Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media
This Executive Order directs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) and all federal agencies to stop using federal money to support National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The President frames the action as a response to what the order calls biased or non‑impartial coverage by those organizations and says taxpayer funds should not subsidize partisan news. The order requires the CPB to cancel or decline direct grants to NPR and PBS and to revise grant rules to block indirect funding through public stations and other CPB recipients, with a June 30, 2025 deadline for certain revisions. It also requires federal agencies to identify and terminate any grants or contracts with NPR/PBS, and directs the Department of Health and Human Services to review compliance with federal non‑discrimination requirements. The order is explicit that it must be carried out consistent with applicable law and available appropriations, contains a severability clause (so other provisions remain if one is struck down), and states it does not create enforceable private rights. Implementation could reduce or eliminate federal support for NPR and PBS, affect local public stations that receive CPB funds, and prompt legal or administrative challenges about scope and authority.
Key Points
- 1CPB must cease direct funding to NPR and PBS and cancel existing direct funding to the maximum extent allowed by law.
- 2CPB must stop indirect funding to NPR and PBS by changing grant eligibility rules so licensees, permittees, and other CPB fund recipients cannot use federal funds for NPR or PBS; the order sets a June 30, 2025 deadline for revising certain 2025 grant provisions.
- 3Heads of all federal agencies must identify and, where legally permitted, terminate any direct or indirect federal funding, contracts, or other instruments involving NPR or PBS and enforce compliance terms where violations are found.
- 4The Secretary of Health and Human Services is directed to determine whether NPR and PBS (or successors) comply with statutory employment non‑discrimination requirements (cited at 47 U.S.C. 397(15) and 398(b)) and to take corrective action if they do not.
- 5The order includes standard legal limits: it must be implemented consistent with law and available appropriations, contains a severability clause, and disclaims creation of enforceable private rights.