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During a recent White House meeting, President Donald Trump expressed his desire to eliminate federal funding for major news organizations such as NPR and PBS.
In response to a query regarding a hearing by the DOGE Subcommittee titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,” Trump stated, “Well, I would love to do that.” He criticized what he perceives as bias in the coverage provided by these outlets, remarking, “It’s been very biased. The whole group, I mean, a whole group of them.”
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Katherine Maher and Paula Kerger, the leaders of NPR and PBS respectively, are expected to appear before the DOGE Subcommittee to defend their funding sources and editorial practices. The Subcommittee’s press release indicated that their testimonies would focus on “the demonstrably biased news coverage they produce for an increasingly narrow and elitist audience should continue to be funded by the broad taxpaying public.”
In anticipation of the hearing, both Maher and Kerger are expected to articulate the rationale for why their organizations should continue to receive public financial support. Although less than 1% of NPR’s funding is directly from the federal government, they receive funds related to grants and contributions to local member stations that ultimately pay fees to NPR.
PBS is reported to obtain approximately 16% of its funding from governmental sources, with a significant portion channeled through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which is allocated around $500 million annually by Congress for supporting public media initiatives and programming.
Trump criticized the efficacy of federal funding received by these outlets, stating, “They spend more money than any other network of its type ever conceived… it’s a very biased view, you know that better than anybody,” emphasizing his belief that such funding is wasteful.
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At the cabinet meeting, Trump reiterated his views, suggesting that ample media coverage is already available from other sources, making federal funding unnecessary. Furthermore, he claimed to be unaware of the ongoing recommendations from the DOGE Subcommittee but assumed they might advocate for closing down NPR and PBS.
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the chair of the DOGE Subcommittee, echoed Trump’s sentiments, asserting that Maher and Kerger ought to justify their corporations’ reliance on federal funding. She remarked, “I want to hear why NPR and PBS think they should ever again receive a single cent from the American taxpayer.”
Greene accused the organizations of biased reporting, referencing issues such as their coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop, the origins of COVID-19, and the Russian collusion narrative. She emphasized the need for accountability, stating that taxpayers should not fund what she considers one-sided reporting that undermines a significant portion of the American populace to further particular political agendas. She expressed eagerness to collaborate with the Trump Administration to address what she describes as the misuse of taxpayer resources for partisan activities.
Source
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