Durbin Statement On President Trump’s Executive Order To End Federal Funds For NPR and PBS

CHICAGO – U.S. Senate Democratic Whip Dick Durbin (D-IL) sent the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order seeking to prohibit federal funding for National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB):

“The ruthless cuts and attacks on our federal government was not enough for President Trump—now he is going after public broadcasting, which has been providing unbiased, informative, and breaking news for years, especially for our nation’s rural communities. As a democracy, we pride ourselves on having a strong freedom of the press. With President Trump’s executive order, we will only backslide. This is dangerous and I implore my Republican colleagues to act to reverse the President’s course—our democracy depends on it.”

Through the government funding bill passed earlier this year, CPB will receive $535 million in advanced appropriations for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027. However, the Trump Administration has rescinded all funding that goes directly to NPR and PBS, including funding appropriated for FY 2025, FY 2026, and FY 2027. NPR and PBS provide educational programming for young children, unbiased and local new, especially in rural communities, and lifesaving emergency alerts during natural disasters.

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