October 1 marks the first day in over 50 years that public media will no longer receive annual federal funding. Public media stations across the country are standing strong, but face difficult decisions since Congress voted to eliminate this funding, with drastic impacts from programming changes to staff reductions and closures.  

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) has been winding down their operations, with only a skeleton crew remaining to close things down after October 1. 

Congress is still working on FY26 appropriations. However, on July 31, the Senate passed their version of the Labor, Health & Human Services, and Education appropriations bill and did not restore funding for the CPB. Likewise, the House did not include it in their version of the bill.

On July 18, the House passed the amended version of H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, which claws back $1.1 billion in funding for the CPB. President Trump has since signed it into law.

The Senate passed H.R. 4, the Rescissions Act of 2025, as amended, on July 17 and sent it back to the House for approval.

The House of Representatives passed H.R. 4, the Rescission Act of 2025 on June 12. The Senate Appropriations Committee held a hearing on the bill on Wednesday, June 25, with the Director of the Office of Management and Budget testifying.

The White House sent a proposed rescission package to Congress on June 3. This $9.4 billion package included a $1.1 billion cut in funding for the CPB, taking back money previously appropriated by Congress. Congress had 45 days to consider the proposal and only required a majority vote to pass. If not passed in that timeframe, by July 18, the proposal would die

President Trump issued an Executive Order called “Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media” on May 1, which prohibits any public media station that receives CPB or other federal funds from using those dollars for NPR and PBS. The CPB has issued a statement asserting it is not a federal government agency subject to the President's authority. NPR and three public media stations in Colorado have filed a lawsuit against the Administration claiming this order violates the Constitution and First Amendment rights. PBS also filed a lawsuit.

The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press filed an amicus brief in support of NPR’s lawsuit against the Administration, with MPR signing on along with 28 other stations. Attorneys General from 23 states filed an amicus brief in support of NPR and their member stations, as did the ACLU.

In April, President Trump attempted to fire three members of the CPB Board. The CPB immediately filed a lawsuit against the Administration noting that CPB is an independent organization, not a government entity, and its board members are not government officers. Although the judge in this case did not grant an emergency injunction, the court recognized the independence of the CPB as it was established to be a private non-profit corporation independent from governmental control or influence. The three Board members were retained.

President Trump released his FY26 Budget Proposal on May 2, which proposed the elimination of funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. It is important to note that while this budget proposal provides a guide to Congress regarding the President's priorities, it is not binding. It is up to Congress to determine funding levels for the CPB.