(CNN) — PBS and one of its member stations in northern Minnesota sued President Trump and several cabinet officials on Friday over Trump’s executive order targeting the public broadcasting system.

PBS alleges that the president’s May 1 order violated the First Amendment of the Constitution and the Administrative Procedure Act.

The lawsuit asks the US District Court in Washington, DC, to affirm the order’s unconstitutionality and bar the Trump administration from enforcing the president’s demands that PBS be defunded.

“After careful deliberation, PBS reached the conclusion that it was necessary to take legal action to safeguard public television’s editorial independence, and to protect the autonomy of PBS member stations,” a PBS spokesperson said Friday. CNN has asked the White House

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