President Trump asks Congress to codify DOGE cuts to PBS and NPR

Last week, PBS sued the Trump administration over an executive order that dictated CPB cease giving money to PBS and NPR over so-called “biased” media coverage. By proposing major cuts to CPB itself, Trump can circumvent issues with the executive order and hamstring public media funding anyway. The rescissions package reportedly only needs a simple majority to pass through Congress, meaning that Republicans could bypass Democrats to make the cuts a reality. 

Public media is not the only target of the package, nor even the primary one. Per NBC News, “The package is expected to contain $8.3 billion in cuts to foreign aid, including a number of programs designed to support LGBTQ communities, according to the talking points. There are also cuts to education and transportation programs, reproductive health, funds for the World Health Organization, about $142 million in cuts for the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and nearly $9 million in cuts to the U.S. President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR).” One Trump submits his rescission request, Congress has 45 days to act, during which they can move to amend, pass only part of the bill, or pass it wholesale. In the past, recission packages have failed because Congress “typically rejects attempts by a president to decline to allocate certain spending it has directed.” In the unprecedented times of the second Trump era, it feels much less certain that Congress will check the president’s power.