President Donald Trump is celebrating as Congress has approved his proposal to cut all federal funding for PBS and NPR. The move fulfills a promise to defund the organizations that Trump and other Republicans have accused of having a liberal bias. Though the cuts won’t shut down these organizations, they are likely to impact programs and may endanger television and radio stations in some markets.
Trump celebrates defunding of ‘atrocious’ NPR and PBS
Republicans in Congress have passed a measure championed by Trump to defund PBS and NPR. Trump took to social media Thursday night as the House of Representatives passed a bill that zeroed out all federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which in turn funds PBS and NPR. Writing in all caps, the president announced “HOUSE APPROVES NINE BILLION DOLLAR CUTS PACKAGE, INCLUDING ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED. REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!”
Trump and other Republicans have long targeted NPR and PBS, which are responsible for public radio and television stations and programs across the country. Members of the GOP have accused the organizations of displaying liberal bias in their programs. Trump previously attempted to cut funding for PBS and NPR through executive order, while also ordering his administration to investigate the two organizations for practicing “discrimination.” Funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is determined by Congress, and Trump later pursued funding cuts through the Republican-controlled Congress. When initially passing these cuts in June, Republican House Speaker Mike Johnson characterized the vote as removing “waste” in federal spending.
Republicans push through billions in funding cuts
The Republican-controlled Congress approved billions of dollars in cuts to previously approved federal spending, slashing over $9 billion from the federal budget. These cuts include cutting the entire $1.1 billion that had been allocated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the entity that helps to fund PBS and NPR. The Senate approved the measure Thursday evening in a 51-48 vote, and the House passed it Friday morning 216-213, with only two Republicans voting against the proposal. The cuts also eliminate $8 billion in foreign aid funding, including programs for refugees of natural disasters and conflicts.
The Trump administration was able to zero out federal funding for the CPB through a process known as rescission, which allowed Congress to pass the cuts through a simple majority vote and thus avoid a filibuster, meaning that Republicans did not need any Democratic votes for the measure. This will not be the case when Congress votes for a new budget to fund the federal government past September. It is possible that Republicans, needing Democratic votes for a new budget for the next fiscal year starting from Oct. 1, could restore some of the cut funding. In the interim, PBS and NPR are expected to continue to operate, as they do not depend on the government for most of their funding. However, stations in smaller markets may be impacted or even forced to close since they tend to rely more heavily on federal funding.
Trump’s budget cuts are a victory for the administration and a fulfillment of a pledge to financially strike against organizations seen as outside of the GOP agenda. For now, PBS and NPR will have to prepare to operate without federal funding, and some stations may face closure as a result.
