Trump’s Cuts to Public Broadcast via the Rescissions Act

NPR National Public Radio in Culver City, California. Courtesy of Wikimedia Commons.

Tuesday, October 1, 2025, was the first day in history that public media was not supported by federal funding. As the fiscal year came to a close, the Trump administration’s Rescissions Act of 2025 officially cut $1.1 billion in funding to Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), a conduit for federal funding to public media broadcasting. The Rescission Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 24, 2025, withdrew $9.4 billion of federal unobligated funds, including funding to CPB. This resulted in the shutdown of CPB and, consequentially, the slashing of funding to National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Station (PBS). The withdrawal of funding is part of a larger movement by the Trump administration, and the Republican party as a whole, to cut “wasteful” spending and limit access to public broadcasting. 

When CPB was founded in 1967 under the Public Broadcasting Act, its purpose was to promote educational and cultural programming as an alternative option to commercial media. Republicans, during the Kennedy and Johnson administrations, worried that commercial television had become violent and inappropriate for families and young children. Very quickly after its establishment, under Richard Nixon’s administration, Republicans began attacking PBS, with concerns about a liberal bent to public news coverage and critical reporting of their administration. In 1972, the ACLU released reports that the Nixon administration was attempting to “intimidate” and “starve” public broadcasting, and the administration later vetoed bills that would fund the CPB. More recently, Republicans have also pointed to a limited need for public broadcasting with increasing access to programs on the internet. 

Historically, Republicans have been split on the issue of funding CPB, with many Republicans defending it and pointing out its place in many communities. Concerns about public pushback and the necessity of public broadcasting from opposing Republican lawmakers has prevented cuts from being implemented. Recently, however, Republicans have fallen in line with President Trump’s firm stance on cutting funding. Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) explained that “Republicans who supported public media for their entire careers are voting to kill it, and there is only one reason: Donald Trump.” With almost unanimous support from Republican lawmakers (sans two), the bill was signed into law.

NPR and PBS, both formerly managed by CPB, are public media channels. They are driven by a public interest and funded by public sources and donations. They were established as an alternative to commercial media, which is privately owned and funded and prioritizes profit over educational and cultural programming. NPR and PBS are both nonprofit media syndicates that are partnered with hundreds of member stations and distribute programming. While NPR and PBS both produce some of their own programs, much of their work is focused on funding and producing local programming. On their website, PBS writes that they serve “the American public with programming and services of the highest quality, using media to educate, inspire, entertain and express a diversity of perspectives. PBS empowers individuals to achieve their potential and strengthen the social, democratic, and cultural health of the U.S.” 

The Trump administration has stated that they are pursuing political balance in the nation's airwaves; a note on the Rescissions Act on the Whitehouse Website reads, “The Trump Administration is committed to getting America’s fiscal house in order by cutting government spending that is woke, weaponized, and wasteful.” Contrastingly, in their statement on the funding cuts, CPB wrote, “American taxpayers rightly expect and deserve public media to be reflective of and responsive to the local voices it serves and deliver accurate, unbiased, and nonpartisan news and information. Rather than dismantle public media, we should fund and strengthen it.” 

The Rescissions Act cuts will most dramatically affect local programming in rural and tribal communities. With much of their funding coming from CPB, which is in the process of shutting down and therefore has withdrawn all funding, they are being forced to make cuts to staff and stations. This will leave the most vulnerable stations with fewer programs, including fewer alternatives to conservative talk radio stations in rural areas, and less funding for traditional cultural programming in tribal areas. 

Additional responses from public broadcasting include NPR and PBS writing dissenting statements and lowering their program fees for affected areas and stations, although it is not enough to cushion the blow to many small, local stations. Some of these stations, which were already struggling to generate revenue before the cuts to funding (particularly in tribal and rural areas) are now in serious danger of shutting down. Many of these impacted stations are running community emergency fund drives, and the Public Media Bridge Fund, as well as other entities, are offering an emergency relief effort for the most vulnerable stations. Still, many stations have reported an intense strain on resources and are beginning to cut programs to make ends meet. Republicans will likely continue to push to defund public media, and with the end of the fiscal year and current government shutdown, the cuts to federal funding may feel more tangible in the coming months.