President Donald Trump celebrated a major victory as Congress passed his measure to claw back $9 billion in previously approved funding, including $1.1 billion for PBS and NPR. This move has raised concerns among public media executives who fear that dozens of local stations may have to shut down as a result.
The House gave final approval to Trump’s rescission package by a narrow 216-to-213 vote, following the Senate’s 51-to-48 vote in favor of the measure. The bill cancels approximately $8 billion in foreign aid and $1.1 billion for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding to NPR and PBS, over the next two years. The measure now awaits Trump’s signature to go into effect.
Trump proudly touted the elimination of federal funding for PBS and NPR as a long-awaited victory for conservative lawmakers who have been pushing for this for decades. The White House has accused public media outlets of spreading “radical, woke propaganda disguised as ‘news'” and claimed that NPR and PBS are biased against non-leftist viewpoints.
In a post on his Truth Social platform, Trump highlighted the significance of the House’s approval of the $9 billion cuts package, which includes defunding NPR and public broadcasting. He emphasized that Republicans have been trying to achieve this for 40 years and that this move marks a significant milestone.
Despite the cost-cutting rationale cited by Trump and other Republicans for eliminating funding for PBS and NPR, a recent analysis by the Congressional Budget Office projects that the Trump-backed spending bill approved by Congress will increase federal deficits by at least $3.4 trillion over the next decade.
Surveys indicate that a majority of Americans support publicly funded media, with 53% of voters opposing the elimination of all federal funding for public media. Additionally, a survey conducted by Peak Insights found that 53% of respondents believe that public media outlets report news fully, accurately, and fairly, compared to only 35% who said the same about media in general.
The rescission package will slash $535 million annually for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for a two-year period starting in October. PBS CEO Paula Kerger expressed concern that these cuts will have a significant impact on all stations, particularly smaller stations serving large rural areas. NPR CEO Katherine Maher also criticized the defunding, calling it an unwarranted dismantling of beloved local civic institutions.
PBS and its member stations rely on about 15% of their revenue from CPB’s federal funds, while NPR receives approximately 2% of its annual operating budget from CPB and federal grants. Smaller local NPR and PBS stations, however, depend more heavily on federal funding for their operating budgets, with estimates suggesting that up to 18% of member stations could be forced to shut down without federal support.
Republicans have criticized PBS and NPR for what they perceive as a left-wing and “woke” bias, arguing that taxpayers should not subsidize programming that promotes certain ideologies. However, Democrats have raised concerns about the impact of funding cuts on rural stations and children’s programming like “Sesame Street” and “Daniel Tiger.”
Established by Congress through the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s mission is to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services. The recent funding cuts have sparked a debate about the future of public media and the role of federal funding in supporting these institutions.
