Trump demands $1.1 Billion cut from NPR and PBS, threatening hundreds of local stations

Washington D.C. – President Donald Trump on Tuesday formally asked Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in federal funding allocated to public broadcasting, escalating his long-running feud with NPR and PBS and placing them at the center of his broader cultural and political battles.

The funding, previously approved by Congress in March to support public broadcasting through September 2027, is distributed through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and helps sustain local radio and television stations across the country. Trump’s request triggers a 45-day countdown during which both chambers of Congress must approve the so-called “rescission” for it to become law. With Republicans holding narrow majorities in the House and Senate, the success of the measure could hinge on just a few votes.

The proposal is part of a broader $9.4 billion package of budget rollbacks prepared by the White House, which includes cuts to foreign aid and public health initiatives. House Speaker Mike Johnson credited Elon Musk and his task force on government efficiency, DOGE, with identifying the recommended rescissions.

But Trump’s singling out of public media is a far cry from typical cost-cutting. This decision extends a campaign of political and legal pressure on NPR and PBS, which has included an executive order barring CPB funds from reaching them directly or indirectly, and an attempt to fire a majority of CPB’s board members. Those moves are currently being challenged in court.

Public media leaders warned that the proposed rescission would devastate local stations, particularly in rural and underserved regions. Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, said the cuts would undermine essential services, including emergency broadcasts and locally produced programming.

Katherine Maher, CEO of NPR, called the proposal “viewpoint-based” and potentially unconstitutional. She warned that it would create immediate budget shortfalls and lead to layoffs, especially at smaller stations.

Trump’s request follows a contentious House subcommittee hearing earlier this spring, where Republicans accused public broadcasters of partisan bias and cultural elitism. “NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical, left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals,” said Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal Trump ally.

Yet resistance to Trump’s plan is not confined to Democrats. Sen. Susan Collins (R-Maine), who chairs the Senate Appropriations Committee, objected to other parts of the rescission package—particularly proposed cuts to the global HIV/AIDS program PEPFAR—and declined to endorse the public media rollback. Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska) also voiced support last month for continued CPB funding, citing its importance in her rural state.

Democratic lawmakers were more direct. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Patty Murray, the top Democrat on the Appropriations Committee, denounced the proposal as politically motivated. “President Trump is looking to go after PBS and NPR to settle political scores and muzzle the free press,” they said in a joint statement.

Rep. Dan Goldman (D-N.Y.), co-chair of the House Public Broadcasting Caucus, led a May letter signed by 106 Democrats urging appropriators to protect the funding. The letter emphasized the unique role public stations play in filling information gaps in communities where commercial media has receded. “In many rural states, public radio is the only weekly or daily news source,” the letter stated.

The stakes are high for public broadcasters. The CPB’s structure was designed by Congress to insulate it from political interference. Still, the Trump administration has tested the boundaries of that framework, and while litigation around executive actions continues, the request to rescind funds is squarely within the president’s legal authority.

Whether Congress will ultimately approve it is unclear. The last time a president successfully pushed through a rescission request was more than 30 years ago. In the meantime, nearly 200 public broadcasting officials have visited Capitol Hill to press lawmakers on the impact of potential cuts.