WARSAW, Poland (AP) - Poland's President Andrzej Duda announced on Saturday that he intends to veto a spending bill that includes funding for public media and raises for teachers, dealing a blow to Prime Minister Donald Tusk's new pro-European Union government.

The bill, which amounts to 3 billion zlotys ($762 million) for public media, came on the heels of Tusk's government firing the directors of state television, radio, and the government-run news agency. The Prime Minister claimed that this was a necessary step to reestablish independent media in Poland.

Public media in Poland, funded by taxpayers, is legally required to be free of political bias. However, the previous ruling party, Law and Justice, used the media as a propaganda mouthpiece, spreading disinformation and xenophobic and homophobic content during its eight-year tenure.

Tusk's party, which won power on promises to restore democratic norms, has been facing criticism over its handling of public media reforms. The culture minister replaced the heads of state media and TVP Info, a 24-hour news network, which has been off air since Wednesday and is yet to resume broadcasting.

The Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights in Warsaw has expressed doubts about whether a government member should have the authority to make decisions regarding leadership changes in public media. The organization stated that the manner in which the changes were initiated raised serious legal concerns.

While some individuals defended the Tusk government's actions, arguing that it was necessary to counter propaganda, others questioned whether the government could establish truly objective media outlets free from political bias.

President Duda, politically aligned with Law and Justice, strongly condemned the government's takeover of public media, stressing that he would not accept any actions that he believed to be against the law. As the President has the right to veto legislation and propose bills of his own, this move serves as an early indication of the difficulties Tusk may face in pushing forward his agenda.

In response, Prime Minister Tusk tweeted that Duda's veto would block the proposed raises for preschool and other teachers. Tusk vowed to overcome this obstacle, although it remains unclear how he will accomplish this. His coalition government currently holds a majority of 248 seats in the 460-seat Sejm (parliament), but lacks the necessary three-fifths majority to override presidential vetoes.

The clash between President Duda and Prime Minister Tusk highlights the challenges faced by the new government as it seeks to implement reforms and restore democratic principles. The future of public media in Poland hangs in the balance, as the country's leaders grapple with legal concerns and attempts to eliminate partisan bias from the media landscape.