Trump Targets NPR, PBS Funding in Executive Order

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order instructing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and federal agencies to end all direct and indirect federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), citing concerns over perceived bias and the appearance of compromised journalistic independence. The administration argues that taxpayer money should not fund what it describes as 'radical, woke propaganda' and has called government funding of news media outdated and corrosive. The order would impact hundreds of local public radio and television stations across the country that rely in part on CPB grants to deliver educational and emergency programming. Critics, including PBS CEO Paula Kerger, have warned the move would disrupt essential services for millions of Americans and undermine a longstanding bipartisan public-private partnership supporting high-quality, accessible programming. Legal challenges are expected, as the CPB’s budget has already been approved by Congress through 2027. NPR and PBS note that federal funding constitutes a small but critical portion of their budgets, especially for local stations and rural communities.