It’s no secret that President Donald Trump has long considered outlets like NPR, PBS, and Voice of America more propagandists than public servants. Now, his administration is doing something about it.
On Monday, the White House formally submitted a $9.3 billion rescission package to Congress—targeting, among other things, the total elimination of federal funding for public broadcasting. The proposal zeroes out the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds NPR and PBS, and includes further cuts to the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID).
The cuts are laid out in a “rescissions” package obtained by The New York Post, which outlines plans to pull back $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and $8.3 billion from the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The proposal, drafted by White House budget director Russ Vought at the request of Republican leaders in Congress, charges CPB with a “lengthy history of anti-conservative bias” and points to alleged “waste, fraud, and abuse” at USAID.
The formal submission of the plan to Capitol Hill is expected to begin a 45-day countdown for lawmakers to either adopt or reject the recommendations. With Republicans now in control of both chambers, the White House expects the measure to pass — a reversal from 2018, when Trump’s previous rescissions effort was narrowly defeated in the Senate.
“Since day one, the Trump Administration has targeted waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending through executive action, DOGE review, and other efforts by departments and agencies. Congress has expressed strong interest in supporting those efforts, and requested the Administration transmit rescissions to the Hill for swift approval,” Vought wrote in the memo.
The plan details two primary actions. “OMB recommends the Administration respond with two proposals to cut $9.3 billion. The first includes a rescission of $8.3 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending (out of $22 billion) that does not expire in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The second is a separate rescission of all Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — which funds the politically biased public radio and public television system.”
NPR and PBS have come under increased scrutiny from the right, with critics alleging their content has leaned increasingly partisan. The memo singles out NPR’s new CEO Katherine Maher, who once referred to Trump as a “fascist” and a “deranged racist.” Maher, in testimony before Congress last month, admitted she now regrets making those statements.
The memo also references two recent PBS programs featuring transgender characters as examples of content that GOP lawmakers view as politically slanted. If approved, the move would represent one of the most significant Republican efforts in recent years to defund institutions that have historically received bipartisan support but have since become flashpoints in the culture wars.
NPR, in particular, has been the subject of fierce criticism from conservatives in recent years, especially after several high-level resignations and leaked memos alleging internal bias and censorship.
In March, Trump publicly demanded that Congress “DEFUND” NPR and PBS, labeling them as “horrible and completely biased platforms.”
In January, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr initiated investigations into NPR and PBS for potentially violating federal laws by airing prohibited commercial advertisements.
