The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a nonprofit that distributes federal funds to American public radio and television stations, announced that it would be closing down as a result of President Donald Trump’s funding cuts.
In response to recent legislation that would reduce nearly $1.1 billion of its funding, the organization announced in a statement on Friday that it had “orderly wind-down of its operations.”
Our current situation, according to its president, Patricia Harrison, “encouraging the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting would operate for the following six months, but with fewer employees, according to the statement.
On September 30th, the majority of its employees will leave. A “small transition team” will then be in place through January 2026 to “ensure a responsible and orderly closeout.”
The nonprofit received its last-minute death knell through two legislative initiatives.
The Rescission Act of 2025, which was intended to revoke funding that Congress had previously approved, was the first. Trump sought to put federal programs on the cutting block, including federal funding for public broadcasters and foreign aid.
The House then approved the act by a vote of 216 to 213 and the Senate voted to pass it by a margin of 51 to 48.
The Senate Appropriations Committee’s 2026 funding bill for labor, health and human services, education, and related agencies was unveiled on July 31.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting received no of the $ 97 billion in discretionary funding allocated in that bill.
The nonprofit claims that the corporation has never been left out of the appropriations bill in a long time.
Republicans control both of Congress, and their membership has largely aligned with Trump’s legislative priorities.
Republicans have long prioritized defunding the public media, dating back to Sander Vanocur’s conflict with the government in the 1970s.
Nixon vetoed a bill that would have allowed Congress to return with a more conservative version of its funding in 1972 because he and Trump had a hostile relationship with the media. That action aided Republicans in stifling down federal funding for non-commercial, public television and radio.
In his second term, Trump has made it a top priority to reduce what he sees as “bloat” in the government, including reducing federal spending.
He and his supporters have accused left-wing soapboxes like PBS and National Public Radio (NPR) of being.
NPR and PBS affiliate stations receive funding from The Corporation for Public Broadcasting. 43 million viewers tune in to NPR each week. PBS, by contrast, only has an online presence that accounts for its annual television sales, which reach 130 million people annually.
Trump threatened to withdraw his support from any Republican who would not support his efforts to defund the corporation in the days leading up to the Rescissions Act’s passage.
Trump also claimed that public television was worse than its commercial counterparts, including MSNBC, which he frequently misspelled in order to imply alleged bias against the Democratic National Committee (DNC).
Trump wrote on social media on July 10 that it is “very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, especially, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN &, MSDNC put together.
“I will not support or endorse any Republican who votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting.” I appreciate you paying attention to this issue.
However, Harrison, the corporation’s president, portrayed the closure as a loss for civic engagement and education.
According to Harrison, “Public media has been one of the most reliable institutions in American life, providing educational opportunities, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connections to every corner of the country.”
Source: Aljazeera
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