It’s official: Corporation for Public Broadcasting shutting down due to loss of federal funds

Heartbreaking news for millions of concerned Americans after the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) announced this week that it will begin an orderly wind-down of its operations following the passage of a federal rescissions package and the release of the Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill, which excludes funding for CPB for the first time in more than five decades.

The announcement comes less than a month after Congress passed a package of spending cuts requested by President Donald Trump that included stripping $1.1 billion in funding for the CPB. The Trump administration has maintained that the CPB should be stripped of funding despite objections from some Republican lawmakers whose districts include rural areas that rely on the local outlets. The administration has repeatedly accused NPR and PBS of liberal bias, which the organizations have repeatedly denied. ~ NBC News, New York

If you’ve ever listened to NPR on your way to work, or watched Sesame Street or Daniel Tiger with your kids, then you know how important public broadcasting is for communities.

But now the CPB is shutting down because Trump defunded public broadcasting. Republicans had a… pic.twitter.com/zbb1yzhq4s
— Senator Mark Kelly (@SenMarkKelly) August 1, 2025

For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out a mission to build and sustain a trusted public media system that informs, educates, and serves communities across the country. Through partnerships with local stations and producers, CPB has supported educational content, locally relevant journalism, emergency communications, cultural programming, and essential services for Americans in every community.

“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,” said CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison. “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

CPB informed its employees on August 1 that the majority of staff positions will conclude with the close of the fiscal year on September 30, 2025. A small transition team will remain through January 2026 to ensure a responsible and orderly closeout of operations. This team will focus on compliance, final distributions, and resolution of long-term financial obligations, including ensuring continuity for music rights and royalties that remain essential to the public media system.

“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.”

On July 31, after learning that CPB would no longer receive federal funding to support its operations, Patricia Harrison issued the following statement in response to the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee markup of the 2026 Labor and Health and Human Services appropriations bill, which excluded all funding for CPB:

“CPB is deeply concerned that the Senate Appropriations Committee has advanced a bill that threatens the survival of local public media stations essential in so many ways to the communities they serve.

“Following Congress’ earlier rescission of previously approved funds, this decision to provide no funding to CPB in FY 2026 will cause irreparable harm, especially to small and rural public media stations.

“The absence of future funding eliminates CPB’s ability to fulfill our statutory mission—providing support to nearly 1,500 local public media stations and making needed investments that help stations serve their communities.

“CPB, consistent with its role as designated by Congress, will continue serving as a responsible financial steward of federal funding, to help local stations prepare for and adjust to the loss of federal support. Our focus remains on supporting them through this transition and helping them navigate the challenges ahead.”

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