The Trump administration said Tuesday that it has sent to Congress its proposal to roll back $1.1 billion in funding allocated to public media stations, NPR and PBS, continuing the president’s effort to punish mainstream media.The cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit entity that distributes money to public media, were part of a rescissions package that also include cuts to foreign aid and other programs. The CPB operates on a two-year advanced appropriation cycle, something set up by Congress to try to shield it from political interference. The Trump administration proposal would eliminate the annual $535 million in funding for fiscal years 2026 and 2027.“Today, we sent the first rescissions package to Capitol Hill,” according to a statement from the Office of Management and Budget. “This package contains BILLIONS in wasteful foreign aid and federal funding for NPR and PBS.”The rescissions package calls public media a “system that is political biased and an unnecessary expense to the taxpayer.”Patricia Harrison, CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, said in a statement that it was “firmly committed to ensuring that funding for public media provides local communities with accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news and information, and we take seriously concerns about bias that have been raised. The path to better public media is achievable only if funding is maintained. Otherwise, a vital lifeline that operates reliable emergency communications, supports early learning, and keeps local communities connected and informed will be cut off with regrettable and lasting consequences.”Paula Kerger, president and CEO of PBS, said in a statement, “The proposed rescissions would have a devastating impact on PBS member stations and the essential role they play in communities, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets. Without PBS member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.”NPR CEO Katherine Maher said that the proposal “is the most serious threat ever faced by public broadcasting.”“The proposal, which is explicitly viewpoint-based and aimed at controlling and punishing content, violates the Public Broadcasting Act, the First Amendment, and the Due Process Clause,” Maher said. “If approved, Congress will be taking an unprecedented step of ending nearly half a century of bipartisan support for nonprofit, local broadcast media serving communities across the nation.”PBS and NPR already are suing Trump over his effort to cut off funding via executive order, arguing that the president’s action violates the First Amendment. The CPB is suing the administration over its efforts to fire three of its board members, including Sony’s Tom Rothman.The Trump administration is seeking congressional endorsement for its program of cuts, something that would likely put it on a stronger legal footing. As Trump has sought to eliminate agencies and cut off funding via executive order and via the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency, their moves have been challenged in court.Public media has been the target of past Republican administrations including Trump in his first term. Each of Trump’s budgets during his first term called for eliminating funding for the CPB. But with healthy support on both sides of the aisle, federal funding for public media has survived.This time, though, is different, advocates of public media say. Some key GOP lawmakers who had previously been champions of public broadcasting have been silent or reluctant this time around, as so much of the Republican-controlled Congress has rallied around Trump’s agenda and wishes.“This is one of the most serious threats that public media has seen in its entire history,” said Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, which advocates for local public broadcasters. “Certainly there is a different approach by the administration to make a range of cuts and take a series of actions.”She said that the elimination of CPB funding would be “devastating” to local public TV stations, as 70% of the CPB funding goes to local stations.“Every single station will have to cut services and change what they’re doing, and that means fewer kids and teachers will have the amazing education resources that public television stations bring into their community for free,” Riley told Deadline. “It means that there will be less local content content that really highlights the unique nature of communities around the country.”She said the greatest risk would be for stations that rely on federal funding for 30% or more of their budgets. Those stations, she said, are all in rural areas, and she estimated that about 30 public stations fall into that category.Public media outlets have been urging viewers and listeners to contact members of Congress, while Kerger recently teamed with Ken Burns on an op-ed tying the need for public media funding to the 250th anniversary of the United States, coming up next year. APTS has has a campaign, Protect My Public Media, that has generated about 1.6 million communications to Congress, Riley said. One Republican senator, Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, published a piece last month in which she reiterated her support for public broadcasting.Votes on the package are expected over the next month. “We have talked to a number of Republican members who are concerned because they suppoort their local public television stations and the work that those stations are doing in public safety, in education and community connections,” Riley said. “That’s really work that no other entities are doing on the local level.”As expected, Democrats expressed their opposition to the rescissions package. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries called it “reckless,” and said it was “only the latest attempt by the Trump administration to attack the free press, decimate lifesaving humanitarian aid and hurt our national security.”The Trump administration also has moved to shut down federally funded international broadcasting entities like Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, but it also has sought to investigate even private media outlets. Trump’s FCC chairman, Brendan Carr, has launched probes of Comcast, Disney and other private companies over their diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
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