WASHINGTON — The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will cease its operations by the end of this year after Congress passed a massive spending cuts package last month that stripped roughly $1 billion in federal funds to the nonprofit radio company.
The organization announced on Friday its plans to begin “an orderly wind-down of its operations,” citing the passage of President Donald Trump’s rescissions package as the reason behind the decision. The majority of staff positions will be eliminated by the beginning of October, with a small transition team remaining in place until January “to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations.”
“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.”
The CPB was authorized by Congress in 1967 and provides partial funding to PBS and NPR stations throughout the country, particularly in rural areas. Less than 1% of NPR’s total funding comes from the federal government, but local stations that receive those grants pay fees to NPR.
However, Trump and other Republicans, including Utah Sen. Mike Lee, have repeatedly pushed to strip that federal funding, accusing the stations of using taxpayer dollars to amplify misinformation about conservatives.
NPR especially came under fire over personal comments CEO Katherine Maher made expressing her own political views, including social media posts in 2020 when she described President Donald Trump as a “racist” and a “sociopath.” At the time, Maher did not work at NPR but was the CEO and executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation.
NPR had $11.2 million in operating revenue provided by the CPB in 2024, Maher told lawmakers in March, arguing the funds ensured news and information was provided to all local public radio stations.
“Americans shouldn’t be forced to fund ‘public’ media, especially not the biased programming pushed by PBS and NPR,” Lee told the Deseret News in a statement. “They are now free to attract audiences and donors on their own, without the tax dollars of hardworking families.”
Congress approved the spending cuts package in late July, and lawmakers have since withheld further funding for the organization in upcoming appropriations bills — the first time that has happened in more than five decades, Harrison argued.
“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 said. “We are deeply grateful to our partners across the system for their resilience, leadership, and unwavering dedication to serving the American people.”
The CPB transition team will work over the next six months to focus on final distributions and completing any long-term financial obligation, such as “continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system.”
Meanwhile, the board of directors will work to address any legal, financial or operational requirements related to its closure.