The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced Friday it will begin an “orderly wind-down” of operations, following President Donald Trump’s signing of a GOP-led rescissions package that eliminated its federal funding last month.
The move ends nearly $1.1 billion in taxpayer funding, long used to support outlets such as NPR and PBS.
GOP Declares Victory
House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., called the news a win for accountability: “PROMISES MADE, PROMISES KEPT. The days of the American people being forced to fund biased political outlets ARE OVER.”
House Majority Leader Steve Scalise, R-La., also celebrated the closure: “Proud to lead the rescissions package President Trump signed to finally pull the plug on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. $1.1B returned to taxpayers. No more public dollars for partisan propaganda.”
Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, added: “I exposed that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting failed to vet editorial standards at NPR, PBS, and other ‘news’ outlets before handing over millions of tax dollars for blatantly biased partisan propaganda.”
Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, wrote: “NPR and PBS are free to continue their biased programming. But not with your tax dollars. That’s done.”
Sen. John Kennedy, R-La., commented: “The scheme bureaucrats used to funnel taxpayer money to NPR and PBS will soon be no more. That’s great news for every American who doesn’t want their tax dollars funding left-wing opinion journalism EVER again.”
Conservative Media Reacts
David Bozell, President of Media Research Center, said: “For years, Americans were forced to foot the bill for NPR and PBS—two media arms that insulted the very taxpayers funding them.”
Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, wrote: “The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS, has announced it will be shutting down after the BBB cut its half-a-billion-dollar budget. Bye-bye!”
National Review editor Philip Klein credited Trump: “Credit to Trump for finally being willing to do what other Republicans were too afraid to do.”
CPB Acknowledges Closure
In its statement Friday, CPB said it would close due to the loss of federal funding: “For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country.”
CPB President Patricia Harrison said most employee positions will end by the close of the fiscal year in September. “Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life… We now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.”
Longstanding GOP Target
Federal funding for CPB has long been a target of Republican lawmakers, who argue public broadcasting outlets like NPR and PBS operate with political bias despite receiving taxpayer dollars.
Both networks have denied those allegations. In March, NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger testified before Congress, defending their organizations amid pointed GOP criticism.
