WASHINGTON—The Trump administration is considering a rescission package of $9 billion in cuts to previously approved government spending that includes $1.1 billion of funding cuts for public media.
That amounts to about two years of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding to PBS, NPR and public media, according to NPR.
The proposal, which has been widely reported but not formally been announced as of 2 p.m. ET April 15, would have to be approved by Congress within 45 days after it is formally proposed. If Congress does not act in that time, the previously approved funding will not be cut.
The idea was blasted by Kate Riley, president and CEO of America’s Public Television Stations, who said “rescinding previously appropriated federal funding for public broadcasting defies the will of the American people and would devastate the public safety, educational and local service missions of public media stations – services that the American public values, trusts and relies on every day.”
The New York Times and NPR reported that the Trump administration is considering what is known as a rescission proposal that could claw back money already approved by Congress. The total amount of $9 billion in the proposal includes cuts being made by Elon Musk’s DOGE and cuts in funding agencies like USAID that the White House wants to eliminate.
Once the proposal is formalized, Congress would have 45 days to approve the cuts in the previously approved spending. The cuts to funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcast, which provides funds to public media organizations, would have a devastating impact on public media.
The New York Times reported that the claw-back would not include about $100 million for emergency services and alerts.
“A rescission of funds threatens the very existence of the nation’s local public broadcasting stations and the entire public broadcasting system,” APTV’s Riley said. “This includes the over 160 locally operated and controlled public television stations that serve communities small and large throughout this country from the most remote corners of Alaska to the hollers of Appalachia, public broadcasting is a lifeline in hundreds of communities where there is no other source of local media.
“Eliminating federal funding for public media would leave many Americans, especially those in rural communities and states, without the critical services local public television stations provide from proven education resources to essential local connections,” she added. “Eliminating federal funding for public media would significantly jeopardize public safety across the country.
She also stressed that “public media has earned the broad support of the American people, across the political spectrum, including 65% of people who voted for President Trump who think public television is either adequately funded or underfunded, according to a recent YouGov survey. And just last month, the Pew Research Center found that Americans are more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS by a factor of almost 2:1. That bipartisan support in the public has been consistently reflected in Congress, which approved additional funding for public media just a few weeks ago in the FY2025 Full-Year Continuing Appropriations and Extensions Act.”
Idea was also attacked by Senator Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.), a member of the Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee.
“The White House’s attempt to gut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is an outrageous and reckless attack on one of our most trusted civic institutions,” said Senator Markey. “The CPB supports a public media system that keeps communities informed, educates our children, and reflects the full breadth of America. This rescission package threatens that mission — and would harm the millions of Americans, especially in rural and underserved communities, who rely on public television and radio as their only source of news, culture, and educational programming.
“From ‘PBS NewsHour’ to ‘Sesame Street,’ public television has set the gold standard for programming that empowers viewers, particularly young minds," he noted. "Cutting off this lifeline is not budget discipline, it’s cultural sabotage. I will fight to ensure that the Trump administration doesn’t pull the plug on this essential public good.”
More reactions will be added as they come in.
