NPR CEO rips Trump order to defund as 'retaliation,' insists media outlet is 'non-partisan'

Trump signed the order earlier this month which mandated that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies stop funding NPR and other public media outlets like PBS. 

During the PBS interview on Wednesday, Maher suggested that Trump's executive order violated "safeguards" established by the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 that keep "public media independent from government influence."

PBS has not joined NPR's suit but said it is weighing legal options, among others. 

Maher responded to the critiques, declaring, "Well, first of all, I respond by saying we're a non-partisan news organization. We seek to be able to provide a range of different viewpoints in terms of who we bring on air, the stories that we tell."

"My view is that is a mischaracterization of our work. We do not seek to favor any political party at all. We seek to ensure that Americans have a wide range of perspectives available to them," she added. 

"The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is creating media to support a particular political party on the taxpayers' dime. Therefore, the President is exercising his lawful authority to limit funding to NPR and PBS. The President was elected with a mandate to ensure efficient use of taxpayer dollars, and he will continue to use his lawful authority to achieve that objective."