Trump’s bid to defund PBS, NPR inches closer as House of Representatives approves cuts

The US House of Representatives on Thursday approved a plan to claw back around US$1.1bn in funding to PBS, NPR and their station affiliates, as president Donald Trump’s plan to defund the public media organisations moved another step closer to fruition.

Donald Trump

Library of Congress

The cuts are part of Trump’s “rescission” bill, which aims to withdraw around US$9.4bn in total funding for foreign aid and public broadcasting. The bill was passed by a narrow margin of 214 to 212. It now moves to the Senate, where it is expected to be debated later this summer.

Funding of almost US$1.1bn (US$535m in both 2026 and 2027) had already been approved by Congress for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports both PBS and radio broadcaster NPR. However, Trump has waged war on both organisations, accusing them of being liberal mouthpieces and a waste of federal resources.

The bill is a continuation of the Department of Government Efficiency work started by Elon Musk earlier this year.

“For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it, until now. NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!” wrote Trump on Truth Social on Thursday.

Six weeks ago, Trump signed an executive order https://www.c21media.net/news/trump-signs-executive-order-in-bid-to-cut-1-1bn-funding-for-pubcasters-pbs-and-npr/ directing Congress to rescind US$1.1bn in funding to the CPB. “Neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens,” said the executive order.

PBS, which receives around 15% of its funding via the CPB, responded earlier this month by suing Trump, claiming the order violates the First Amendment and that the US “Constitution and laws forbid the president from serving as the arbiter of the content of PBS’s programming, including by attempting to defund PBS.”

They also argued their federal funding is protected from “political interference” because CPB’s long-term funding and decision-making cannot be influenced by the office of the president.