President Donald Trump has doubled down on his feud with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which helps fund National Public Radio and public television stations nationwide. On June 3, Trump gave a $9.4 billion rescission request to Congress, which requires only a simple majority of lawmakers in each chamber to cancel funds that were previously appropriated to various agencies.
The request would, in part, rescind $535 million in annual funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting — the service's entire operating budget for the year — that was approved as part of a spending bill passed in March by the Republican-controlled Congress. This request builds on Trump's May executive order to end all funding for NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service. The funding cuts would take effect on Oct. 1 for the federal fiscal years 2026 and 2027, potentially clawing back up to $1.1 billion.
The rescission request reaffirms Trump's criticism of public media organizations for alleged tax-funded media bias.
"These funds would be used to subsidize a public media system that is politically biased and an unnecessary expense to the taxpayer," Trump stated in his request to cut CPB funding.
NPR states that only 1% of its funding comes from the federal government. Most affiliate NPR and PBS stations receive a vast amount of their funding from donors and local sources.That said, NPR's 246 member stations typically receive about 10% of their revenue from CPB. PBS and its member stations receive 15% of their revenue from CPB federal funds.
Rural stations are more reliant on federal funding. The proposed cuts would impact Northwest Public Broadcasting's budget by 20% annually, or about $2 million over the next three years, according to Sueann Ramella, director of programming.
Northwest Public Broadcasting states that it reaches 3.6 million people in 44 counties throughout Washington and parts of Oregon, Idaho and British Columbia. Some of the counties covered include Whitman, Okanogan and Chelan in Washington, and Latah, Benewah and Nez Perce in Idaho.
"People might see 20% and think it's such a small number, but when you're talking about an operational budget of $4 million [annually], it's a pretty big number," Ramella says.
The average American taxpayer contributes $1.60 a year toward all NPR and PBS programming across the country, Ramella says.
"That's a lot of people who are served for a buck-60, per taxpayer per year, and the amount of return an American citizen gets from PBS and NPR is amazing," Ramella says.
Many stations aim to help cover rural areas that are traditionally underserved news deserts or lack Spanish news coverage, which is vital for the large migrant agricultural worker population in those areas.
"We spent a lot of blood, sweat and tears trying to build back up regional and local reporters, and, by God, nothing better get rid of them," Ramella says. "We want to continue providing information to all people in our coverage area in the best way possible, and for some it's in Spanish."
In an email, U.S. Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., says she is alarmed by the rescission order and the impacts on Washington's public media stations like KUOW, KEXP and KNKX in the Seattle area, and public television stations like KSPS in Spokane, KBTC in Tacoma and KNTW in the Tri-Cities.
The House voted 214-212 on June 12 to approve the rescission measure, and it now heads to the Senate.
SPOKANE STATIONS
Spokane Public Radio is the other NPR affiliate for the Inland Northwest. John Decker, who is president and general manager of the station and has over 30 years in public media, says these threats are all too familiar.
"I remember when I first got into public media in the mid-'90s, when Newt Gingrich and the rest of the folks on the Republican side of the aisle had the CPB in their sights," Decker says. "Here at Spokane Public Radio, we are operating under the assumption that the money does go away."
SPR states it reaches 1.25 million people in 750 communities across 20,000 square miles of the Inland Northwest.
Decker says that SPR is in a better position to ride out the funding cuts, but any cuts will hurt. He says that being a small organization has allowed the station to maintain staff and programming levels.
"Ten percent of our revenue has come from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting historically," Decker says. "So to lose that will not kill us, but it's going to hurt."
Meanwhile, KSPS, Spokane's local PBS station, is facing other funding cuts from the federal government.
KSPS canceled its free summer camp program after losing Department of Education funding in early May, as it had been using the Ready to Learn grant to fund kids programming. The station announced the cancellation on its Facebook page.
"We're heartbroken, but grateful for the memories we've made together," the Facebook post states. "Ready To Learn has helped fund beloved PBS KIDS programs and community resources for over 30 years."
The cuts to arts, humanities and journalism have alarmed many like Decker and Ramella, who want people to know how important it is to maintain these programs and to reach out to lawmakers to show support. They also encourage people to donate to their organizations during fund drive periods, which help ensure quality reporting and content can be produced.
"It saddens me to think that ... in America today, that somehow certain people are no longer welcome because they have a certain perspective, or that journalism is no longer welcome because it could potentially unearth a story or unearth bad behavior," Decker says. "It's going to change our finances somewhat, and we have to be a little more mindful of that, but it doesn't change what we do or why we do it."
Currently, CPB has filed a lawsuit against Trump over his attempts to remove three board members and potentially withhold funding from NPR and PBS. NPR and three Colorado stations filed a separate lawsuit against Trump, alleging that his May executive order bars the use of congressionally appropriated funds for NPR and PBS.
"The Order's objectives could not be clearer: the Order aims to punish NPR for the content of news and other programming the President dislikes and chill the free exercise of First Amendment rights by NPR and individual public radio stations across the country," the lawsuit states. ♦
