In a sweeping escalation of his attacks on independent media, U.S. President Donald Trump on Thursday signed an executive order calling for the defunding of the nation’s two largest public broadcasters, NPR and PBS. The order, signed behind closed doors, directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to “cease direct funding to NPR and PBS,” and instructs all federal agencies to “identify and terminate, to the maximum extent consistent with applicable law, any direct or indirect funding of NPR and PBS.”
The executive order mirrors language from Project 2025, a far-right policy blueprint that calls for cutting off federal support to public media outlets accused of political bias. In the text of the order, the Trump administration claims that “neither entity presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to tax-paying citizens.” On social media, Trump declared in all caps, “REPUBLICANS MUST DEFUND AND TOTALLY DISASSOCIATE THEMSELVES FROM NPR & PBS, THE RADICAL LEFT ‘MONSTERS’ THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!”
The financial impact of the order could be profound, especially for rural and local media outlets that rely heavily on CPB grants. Federal funding makes up approximately 1 percent of NPR’s annual budget, but its 246 member institutions—which operate more than 1,300 stations—receive between 8 percent and 10 percent of their funding from CPB. PBS and its local stations receive roughly 15 percent of their revenue through CPB. According to the organization, most of these funds go to local public television, which is more expensive to operate than radio.
Congress approved $535 million for CPB in the current fiscal year, and the agency is fully funded through September 30, 2027. Its budget is set on a two-year cycle to help shield it from political interference. However, the Trump administration is also reportedly preparing to ask Congress to rescind these already-allocated funds. The Associated Press reported Thursday that the rescission request “has not yet been sent to Capitol Hill.”
The order has drawn sharp criticism from press freedom advocates, civil society organizations, and media professionals who argue it endangers local journalism and undermines democratic accountability. Craig Aaron, co-CEO of the advocacy group Free Press, said in a statement Friday that “Trump’s attack on public media shows why our democracy is on life support.”
“After years of attacking journalists and lying about their work, it’s no surprise that Trump and his minions are trying to silence and shutter any newsroom that dares to ask him questions or show the devastating impact of his policies on local communities,” Aaron stated. “Yet in many of those communities, the local public-media station is the only source of independent reporting. Trump, of course, prefers fawning propaganda—which too many commercial TV and radio broadcasters are willing to provide in exchange for regulatory favors, or to stay off the president’s target list.”
“All of us who care about an independent press, an informed populace, a responsive government, and a thriving democracy have a stake in the outcome of this fight,” he continued. “If we unite to defend public media—and I believe we can and will prevail—then we might just save our democracy, too.”
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting itself is currently suing the president over his attempt earlier in the week to remove three members of its board of directors, including Tom Rothman, chairman and CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment’s Motion Picture Group. CPB argues that the president lacks the legal authority to unilaterally fire board members, citing both federal statutes and a U.S. Supreme Court ruling.
In a letter sent to congressional leaders earlier this week, a coalition led by Reporters Without Borders warned that the executive order and accompanying budget rescission would lead to the closure of “dozens, if not hundreds, of local, independent radio and television stations serving Americans in every corner of the country.”
“As it stands, public media journalists are often the only reporters attending a school board meeting, or a local zoning hearing, or at the scene of a crime,” the coalition wrote. “They are the journalists most likely to hold local public officials accountable and expose corruption. Faraway digital media outlets will not replicate this coverage, and the American public will lose out.”
During a House Oversight Committee hearing in late March, NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher and PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger defended their networks against accusations of ideological bias. Maher, who took over at NPR in March 2024, was questioned about years-old tweets and the network’s editorial decisions. Kerger was pressed about a video featuring a drag performer posted by a local PBS affiliate, which she clarified “never aired on television.”
Speaking in a subsequent interview on All Things Considered, Maher emphasized the importance of maintaining federal funding for public media. “I think that it’s important for public media to be able to continue to be relevant in a time where there is a lot of coverage of different issues and areas of interest,” she said.
Both NPR and PBS stress that their core mission is to provide nonpartisan, accessible programming to the American public—reaching more than 99% of the population free of charge. Public broadcasters also play a vital role in emergency response systems in many communities and contribute significantly to educational programming and local cultural coverage.
Trump’s executive order also arrives amid broader efforts by his administration to reshape the media environment. Reporters Without Borders noted that his early moves in a second term—such as politicizing the Federal Communications Commission, banning The Associated Press from the White House, and attempting to dismantle the U.S. Agency for Global Media—“have jeopardized the country’s news outlets and indicate that he intends to follow through on his threats, setting up a potential crisis for American journalism.”
The group’s latest report warns that “after a century of gradual expansion of press rights in the United States, the country is experiencing its first significant and prolonged decline in press freedom in modern history, and Donald Trump’s return to the presidency is greatly exacerbating the situation.”
While legal challenges to the order are expected, its immediate implications have sounded alarms across the journalistic community. For millions of Americans—particularly in rural and under-served communities—NPR and PBS remain irreplaceable sources of trusted information and local accountability. The battle over their future now stands as a litmus test for the country’s commitment to democratic values and an independent press.
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