By Kanishka Singh and Karen Freifeld
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, two U.S. broadcasters that rely partially on government financial support, his administration's latest effort to sanction institutions it views as opposed to his political agenda.
The order, announced late on Thursday, instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which distributes funding to the PBS television and NPR radio networks, to "cease direct funding" them.
NPR said it would aggressively challenge the executive order and PBS said it was exploring its options. Congress allocated $535 million for the CPB for fiscal year 2025. Most of the funding for PBS and NPR comes from other sources.
The White House said in a statement on Friday that PBS and NPR receive tens of millions of dollars in taxpayer funds each year to spread "radical, woke propaganda disguised as 'news'."
The statement cited examples of what it called "trash that has passed for 'news' at NPR and PBS," including NPR saying the Declaration of Independence was a document with "flaws and deeply ingrained hypocrisies," and apologizing for describing undocumented migrants as "illegal."
Patricia Harrison, CPB's president and CEO, said in a statement on Friday that the president lacked the authority to withdraw the funding.
"Congress directly authorized and funded CPB to be a private nonprofit corporation wholly independent of the federal government," the statement said.
PBS and its stations receive about 15 percent of their revenues from the CPB, a spokesperson said, adding most of that goes to local stations.
NPR typically receives only about 1 percent of its funding directly from the federal government and slightly more indirectly. Its 246 members, which operate more than 1,000 stations, receive an average of 8% to 10% of their funds from CPB, according to the PBS representative. NPR did not immediately respond to a request for confirmation.
The order says CPB's governing statute reflects principles of impartiality and that neither NPR nor PBS "presents a fair, accurate or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens."
The Trump administration has labeled multiple institutions in academia, the legal profession and the media as being leftist, Marxist, biased or "woke," and threatened funding cuts or other sanctions. Human rights advocates have raised concerns over free speech and academic freedom.
The administration also sought to shut down Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks, whose news broadcasts are funded by the government. A federal judge ordered the administration in late April to halt those efforts.
NPR said in a statement: "We will vigorously defend our right to provide essential news, information and life-saving services to the American public."
PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger said Trump's order threatened its ability to serve the American public with educational programming as it has for the past 50-plus years. She said PBS was exploring all options to serve member stations and viewers.
OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDING
Trump's order also aims to suspend indirect funding for NPR and PBS by asking the CPB to ensure "that licensees and permittees of public radio and television stations, as well as any other recipients of CPB funds, do not use federal funds for NPR and PBS."
The largest portion of PBS's budget comes from station dues. Individual donations typically go to stations, not to PBS directly, though PBS generates some money from private grants.
NPR said every $1 of federal funding generates $7 from local sources.
Both NPR and PBS have previously said that cuts in federal funding would have a "devastating impact" on Americans who rely on them for credible local and national news, including during emergency situations.
NPR said Trump's action jeopardizes the national airing of programs such as "Newscast," "Morning Edition," and "Tiny Desk Radio."
"It seeks to deprive tens of millions of Americans of their regular, trusted sources of information," the statement said.
PBS is known for educational children's programming such as"Sesame Street" and is also home to such long-running programs as "PBS News Hour," "Firing Line," "Nova," and "Antiques Roadshow."
"PBS is not for one political side or the other," it said in a fact sheet. "It's for everyone."
The CPB, created by Congress in 1967, sued the White House on Monday after Trump sought to fire three of its five board members.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Washington, and Karen Freifeld in New York. Editing by Frank McGurty and David Gregorio)
