Trump supports defunding NPR and PBS amid congressional scrutiny

In a recent congressional hearing, President Donald Trump voiced his desire to see National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) lose their federal funding. This event took place during the DOGE Subcommittee hearing focused on what some lawmakers are calling biased reporting by the two media outlets. Trump criticized the use of taxpayer money for media he believes promotes a partisan viewpoint, particularly concerning issues such as the Hunter Biden laptop story and the origins of COVID-19. His remarks were echoed by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., chairing the subcommittee, who demanded NPR and PBS justify their public funding and criticized their coverage as insufficiently objective. The hearing framed the federal support these organizations receive as something that deserves scrutiny in light of what some view as a failure to represent conservative viewpoints. Trump and Greene argued that taxpayers should not bear the costs for what they called one-sided reporting that they believe is biased against conservative perspectives in America. While PBS relies on government funds for approximately 16% of its budget, proponents of defunding assert that the outlets are capable of operating independently without taxpayer support. The ongoing debate touches on broader issues of media accountability and the funding of public broadcasting in the United States. As Trump and Greene continued to advocate for defunding, they reflected a long-standing Republican critique of public broadcasting as being misaligned with their constituents' views and interests. This reflects a significant political shift in considering how public entities like NPR and PBS are funded while also highlighting the challenges they face amid accusations of bias.