Trump to Ask Congress to Defund NPR, PBS

The Trump administration took its first step Monday toward ending federal funding of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) — informing key members of Congress that it’s asking for them to eliminate “all” such spending while also codifying foreign aid cuts identified by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

The major funding changes are contained in a long-awaited “rescissions” plan, obtained and first reported by The Post, that pitches a clawback of $1.1 billion appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and $8.3 billion from USAID.

A memo drafted by White House budget director Russ Vought — and requested by GOP congressional leaders — accuses CPB of a “lengthy history of anti-conservative bias” and cites “waste, fraud, and abuse” at USAID.

Formal transmission of the plan to lawmakers will start a 45-day clock for the Republican-held House and Senate to either adopt or reject the blueprint, which the White House believes will pass — unlike President Trump’s 2018 rescission plan, which failed by one vote in the Senate.

“Since day one, the Trump Administration has targeted waste, fraud, and abuse in Federal spending through executive action, DOGE review, and other efforts by departments and agencies. Congress has expressed strong interest in supporting those efforts, and requested the Administration transmit rescissions to the Hill for swift approval,” Vought’s memo says.

“OMB recommends the Administration respond with two proposals to cut $9.3 billion. The first includes a rescission of $8.3 billion in wasteful foreign aid spending (out of $22 billion) that does not expire in Fiscal Year (FY) 2025. The second is a separate rescission of all Federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — which funds the politically biased public radio and public television system.”

The White House memo notes that NPR CEO Katherine Maher once called Trump a “fascist” and a “deranged racist” — statements that Maher told Congress last month she now regrets making — and cites two recent PBS programs featuring transgender characters.

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) applauded the plan Monday, tweeting: “NPR and PBS have a right to publish their biased coverage — but they don’t have a right to spend taxpayer money on it. It’s time to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

NPR and PBS both have diverse revenue streams, including major foundation grants, advertising and voluntary viewer and listener donations, meaning that neither is likely to cease operations if they lose federal funding.

Trump himself called for NPR and PBS to be defunded last month, though it was unclear at the time how that would be accomplished.

“NPR and PBS, two horrible and completely biased platforms … should be DEFUNDED by Congress, IMMEDIATELY,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on March 27.

Musk’s DOGE initiative is seeking to cut $1 trillion in annual spending — a sum that would halve the annual federal deficit — and some cuts can be done without legislation.

Vought’s memo identifies numerous examples that it says are “illustrative of the waste that could continue [at USAID] without the rescission.”

The list includes $9.4 million for “Championing Transformative Changes in Gender Norms,” $3 million for Iraqi Sesame Street, $500,000 for electric buses in Rwanda, $6 million for Palestinian media and civic society support, $882,000 to fund social media mentorship in Serbia and Belarus, $1 million for voter ID in Haiti, and $3 million for circumcision, vasectomies and condoms in Zambia.

The State Department last month proposed absorbing USAID after deep DOGE-led staffing cuts.

The package also contains smaller cuts to three other agencies that Trump targeted in a February executive order that called for them to be pared to “the minimum presence and function required by law” — including $15 million from the US Institute of Peace, $27 million from the Inter-American Foundation and $22 million from the US African Development Foundation.

Senate Budget Committee Chairman Lindsey Graham (R-SC) is among the Republican leaders who requested that the White House draft the proposal, which can pass with a bare majority.

Republicans separately are preparing a large budget reconciliation bill, which also can pass with simple majorities, circumventing the usual 60-vote Senate threshold. Trump wants that legislation to include his campaign pledges to end taxes on tips, overtime and Social Security benefits.

Trump attempted just one rescissions package in his first term. The $14.7 billion in proposed cuts passed the House but was narrowly defeated in the Senate by a 50-48 vote, with then-Sen. Richard Burr (R-NC) tanking the plan over his objection to zeroing out $16 million in unused money in the Land and Water Conservation Fund.