The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced a “wind down” of operations in a move serving as a victory for the Trump administration. The organization said the “orderly wind-down” follows the passage of a “federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill.”
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”
“Public media has been one of the most trusted institutions in American life, providing educational opportunity, emergency alerts, civil discourse, and cultural connection to every corner of the country,” Harrison added. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”
In May, President Trump called for the end of taxpayer subsidization of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which received funding through the CPB. “Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse, and innovative news options,” Trump’s order read. “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.”
According to the order, the CPB failed to abide by the principle of impartiality through NPR and PBS.
“Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter,” the order noted. “What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”
