John, last night Congress approved the largest cut to public broadcasting in our country’s history. [1]

This is $1.1 billion in funding that local PBS and NPR stations were counting on – and they’ll now have to cut their programming and staff to make up for it.

If you’ve ever relied on PBS and NPR (and let’s be honest, who hasn’t?) this one hits hard.

Generations of Americans grew up with Sesame Street and Mister Rogers – children’s TV that’s about teaching kindness and responsibility, not just selling the latest toy. Local news stations provide hard-hitting journalism that doesn’t just cater to advertisers or keep shareholders happy.

And as we just saw during this month’s horrific floods in Texas, public media is a crucial lifeline – often the broadcaster of last resort – in natural disasters and other emergencies.

So I’ll say this, despite the manners my local PBS showed me as a kid, John: I’m mad as hell.

Polls show that public broadcasting is popular with Democrats, Republicans, and Independents alike. [2] And over the past few weeks, thousands of Common Cause members like you spoke out – signing petitions, calling the House and Senate, and letting your elected representatives know how important public broadcasting is to you and to American democracy.

A few brave lawmakers listened – but in the end, President Trump leaned hard on enough Republicans to fall in line. [3]

Why did MAGA fight so hard for these cuts? I’ll give you a hint: it’s not about the money.

Trump and his enablers know that the free, fair, and impartial journalism that PBS and NPR provide means it’s much harder to get away with their lies. But if they think that these cuts mean there’s nobody left to hold them accountable, they’ve got another thing coming.

You see, Trump can only get away with forcing his fellow Republicans to take these politically toxic votes for so long – and between slashing Medicaid, rubber-stamping his administration’s corruption, and now defunding public media, something’s got to give.

So with your help, Common Cause will make sure every American knows just what the MAGA Congress is stealing from us – and mobilize to ensure each one of us has a voice in deciding where we go from here.

As always, Common Cause members like you are a critical part of this work. This is a tough loss – but at the end of the day, the people power you showed to force this vote down to the wire, and will show again in the fights to come, will be what writes the next chapter of our nation’s history.

Thanks for all you do,

The team at Common Cause

P.S. As I write you, we’re finalizing our plans for the remainder of this summer’s People’s Promise mobilization, including town halls, targeted ads, and a major public education push to make sure that every politician who voted for these cuts hears from the voters they let down.

You can help us scale up this effort – our largest grassroots mobilization outside of an election year – with your contribution of $5 or more today >>

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[1] https://www.npr.org/2025/07/18/nx-s1-5469912/npr-congress-rescission-funding-trump
[2] https://www.axios.com/2025/02/04/pbs-on-the-offense
[3] https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/4