President Donald Trump is praising the potential defunding of NPR as the US House of Representatives narrowly voted to pass a bill that would claw back $1.1 billion in federal funding for public broadcasters that had already been allotted by Congress.
Two votes separated the Rescissions Act of 2025 from defeat in a final decision of 214-212. All but six House Republicans voted for the rescission package, with four voting against and two abstaining. While no Democrats voted for the removal of funds, four Democrats notably did not vote. Had they sided with their party, the measure would have been struck down, leading to malaise and further consternation within the party.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which disperses those funds, could see its budget for fiscal years 2026 and 2027 completely eliminated under the bill, which proposes a broader $9.4 billion federal budget reduction campaign initiated by the White House, mostly made up of $8.3 billion in foreign aid.
Just before the vote, President Trump posted to his Truth Social platform, “For decades, Republicans have promised to cut NPR, but have never done it, until now. NPR and PBS are a Radical Left Disaster, and 1000% against the Republican Party!”
The move follows an executive order blocking CPB funds from reaching NPR and PBS, which is already facing legal challenges. NPR and several Colorado groups have sued over the order, and CPB is separately contesting the dismissal of board members by the White House.
Following the vote, NPR CEO Katherine Maher issued a statement, saying, “The outcome today was extraordinarily close. We are especially grateful for the bipartisan leadership of the Public Broadcasting Caucus, Rep. Mark Amodei (R-NV) and Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY), and all lawmakers who championed the effort in the House to safeguard this funding. In the spirit of their bipartisan support, we will continue to advocate for public media’s essential service to all Americans across our nation.”
“We urge the Senate to affirm the very real support for public media across the nation, and to reject rescission, maintaining critical services for Americans across the nation,” she added.
CPB CEO Patricia Harrison remarked, “Cutting off federal funding to public media will not only damage local stations, it will be disruptive for millions of Americans who rely on it for news and information that helps them make decisions about their lives and participate in their communities.”
The legislation still faces an uncertain future in the Senate, even with the White House’s directive, due to remaining pockets of bipartisan support for public broadcasters. Unless the Senate votes favorably on the measure by July 18, the bill will expire, preserving the budget allocations.
The claw-back of previously approved CPB funding was baked into this bill, making it impossible to oppose the removal of all CPB funding essentially ending the Corp for Public Broadcasting. For those wondering how their state’s House members voted:
Based on the available information regarding the House vote on the Recissions Act of 2025 (H.R. 4), here’s a breakdown of the voting:
Voted Against (Nays):
All Democrats: 208 Democrats voted against the bill.
Four Republicans:
Mark Amodei of Nevada
Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania
Nicole Malliotakis of New York
Mike Turner of Ohio
Voted For (Yeas):
Most Republicans: All Republicans (214 of them) except the four above voted in favor of the bill. This includes Nick LaLota of New York and Don Bacon of Nebraska, who initially voted against but flipped their votes.
Abstained (Did not vote):
Six lawmakers: Four Democrats and two Republicans missed the vote. The specific names are not provided in the search results.
Summary of the Vote:
The bill passed the House with a vote of 214-212.
The vote was largely along party lines, with the exception of the four Republicans mentioned above.
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