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Hi,
BREAKING: The Trump administration is preparing to formally request that Congress rescind $1.1 billion in funding for PBS and public radio, according to multiple news reports.1
If a majority in both houses of Congress vote in favor of Trump's request, then the money is gone. Poof. Just like that.
These cuts would be devastating, especially for local stations, and a vote could come as soon as Congress returns from recess in less than two weeks.2
Demand Progress has mobilized tens of thousands of people to contact Congress and defend PBS, but now, with this huge vote approaching, we need to do even more to fight back.
Will you make a donation to support our work, including our efforts to save PBS and public radio?
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Republicans have tried to defund public broadcasting for years, including during Donald Trump's first term, but the attacks have always been beaten back.3
This time really could be different.
Defunding PBS and public radio is part of Project 2025, and Elon Musk listed it among DOGE's first priorities.4 Trump's Federal Communications Commission chair has launched a phony investigation into PBS, and Marjorie Taylor Greene held a slanderous congressional hearing attacking public broadcasting as "anti-American."5,6
Now we're facing the moment of truth, with the Trump administration formally asking Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in previously approved funding.
Make no mistake. Trump's all-out attack on public broadcasting is about one thing: controlling the information that Americans see and hear.
The good news is that a large majority of Americans — including two-thirds of Trump voters — oppose the defunding of public radio ans PBS.7 To stop these cuts, we must mobilize that support and flood Capitol Hill with petition signatures and phone calls.
With gratitude,
The team at Demand Progress Action
Sources:
1. Bloomberg, "Trump Targets NPR, PBS, Foreign Aid in $9 Billion Spending Cut," April 14, 2025.
2. Politico, "White House to send Congress a formal request to nix $9.3B for PBS, NPR, State Department," April 14, 2025.
3. Semafor, "Weakened US public broadcasters will fight for their lives in 2025," December 9, 2024.
4. The Guardian, "Trump's threat to defund all US public media has NPR and PBS on the back foot," December 28, 2024.
5. The New York Times, "F.C.C. Chair Orders Investigation Into NPR and PBS Sponsorships," January 30, 2025.
6. Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, "DOGE Subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene Opens Hearing with NPR and PBS Executives," March 26, 2025.
7. Axios, "Exclusive: PBS poll finds broad Trump voter support amid GOP defunding push," February 4, 2025.
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