Senator Maria Cantwell is raising alarms about a wave of recent actions by the Trump Administration that target public broadcasting, including defunding NPR and PBS and proposing a federal budget that would eliminate the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) entirely. Last week, the White House dismissed three CPB board members, issued an executive order to halt all funding to NPR and PBS, and introduced a budget proposal that calls for CPB’s complete defunding.
Cantwell, the top Democrat on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, called the actions “illegal” and warned they threaten the survival of local stations. “These illegal actions threaten the viability of local public broadcasting stations across the country – which will deprive communities of the local journalism, quality children’s programming, and emergency alerts they depend on,” she stated. Cantwell accused the administration of overstepping its authority, saying it bypassed Congress’s role in funding and staffing CPB.
The senator underscored the serious impact on rural and underserved communities, citing services like the Alaska Rural Communications Service, Northwest Public Broadcasting, and Harvest Media. She argued that instead of attacking local media, the president should focus on resolving the economic instability he has contributed to.
Rick Steves, a long-time public broadcaster and host of popular public television and radio shows, echoed Cantwell’s concerns. Steves emphasized the historical importance of journalism in American democracy, describing public media as the “Fourth Pillar” of government. He warned that cuts would turn many areas already suffering from a lack of food access into “media deserts,” making it impossible to deliver quality programming to rural and lower-income regions.
Other public media leaders and lawmakers have responded forcefully. Senator Ed Markey called the executive order “a direct threat to the survival of local public media stations.” LaFontaine Oliver, CEO of New York Public Radio, warned that cutting CPB funding would further enable misinformation and reduce civic participation. NPR CEO Katherine Maher pledged to challenge the order through all legal avenues, stating NPR would defend its mission to deliver critical news and services.
While Pew Research data shows that 24% of Americans support cutting federal public media funding, critics argue the move undermines journalism and harms democratic engagement.