The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced Friday it will begin an “orderly wind-down” of its operations after President Donald Trump signed an executive order halting funds to NPR and PBS, followed by Congress passing a rescissions bill and the Senate releasing a FY 2026 appropriations bill that excluded CPB funding for the first time since its founding.
“For the first time in more than five decades, CPB has been excluded from the federal budget,” the organization stated, referencing the newly released Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor-HHS bill. “Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations.”
The shutdown comes after President Trump signed an executive order in May halting funds to NPR and PBS, denouncing the outlets for promoting political bias on the taxpayer’s dime. “No media outlet has a constitutional right to taxpayer subsidies,” the order remarked. “At the very least, Americans have the right to expect fair, accurate, and nonpartisan coverage if their tax dollars are funding it.”
Congress followed with legislative action in July, passing a $9 billion rescissions package that included roughly $1.1 billion in cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and $8 billion from foreign aid programs. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) celebrated the vote as another win for fiscal responsibility. “The American people will no longer be forced to fund politically biased media,” he said.
The CPB, authorized by Congress in 1967, has long positioned itself as a steward of educational and cultural programming. But its ties to NPR and PBS have drawn sharp scrutiny from conservative lawmakers and watchdogs who argue the publicly funded institutions have become mouthpieces for progressive ideology. A recent interview with a general manager at a CPB-funded station drew attention when he argued that ‘bias is in the eye of the beholder,’ adding, ‘One person’s bias is another person’s truth.’”
CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison announced that most staff positions will be eliminated by the end of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to manage legal and financial obligations, including compliance, royalty contracts, and final distributions.
“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison noted. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”
Republicans maintain that taxpayers have long been forced to subsidize a left-wing echo chamber, and they are finally pulling the plug. Rep. Andy Ogles (R-TN) declared after the House vote: “The woke and weaponized NPR, PBS, and USAID have been ELIMINATED. Promises made, promises kept.”
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