Congress serves ‘devastating blow’ to NC’s public broadcasting in overnight vote
House Republicans chose to revoke $9 billion in funding early Friday morning, jeopardizing the future of public broadcasting in North Carolina.
President Donald Trump requested that Congress rescind an earmarked $1.1 billion in funding to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, which includes NPR and PBS stations. It’s part of a larger $9 billion rescission package that includes clawing back another $8 billion in foreign aid.
The House passed the measure 216-213, with two members not voting. Every Republican approved the measure with the exception of Reps. Brian Fitzpatrick and Mike Turner, who voted with Democrats in opposition.
All of North Carolina’s members were present and voted with their parties.
Because the House was approving changes made by the Senate Thursday, the bill now goes directly to the president for his signature.
North Carolina’s PBS, NPR stations
Paul Hunton, president and general manger of WUNC, wrote in an email to listeners Friday morning, “This is a devastating blow.”
North Carolina is home to 12 PBS television stations and nine NPR stations. McClatchy staff regularly appear on programming across those stations.
In May, Hunton told McClatchy that WUNC recieves $800,000 in federal dollars annually and cuts would have a major impact on the station.
“That funding sustains WUNC’s newsroom, supports NPR programming, and keeps us strong in moments of crisis,” Hunton wrote Friday. “We will continue to serve this community with everything we have. But the loss of these funds creates immediate and significant challenges, and the path forward will not be easy.”
David Crabtree, CEO and general manager of PBS North Carolina, told McClatchy in May that federal support accounts for $4.8 million in its annual operating budget.
“This funding is critical to the essential services we provide every day, such as delivering emergency communications across the state, educational programming and resources, and the local and national programs our viewers depend on,” Crabtree told McClatchy in May.
State senators also want to cut $4 million in funding to PBS from the state’s budget.
Public broadcasting
Trump’s feud with public broadcasting began during his first term, in 2017, when he accused both NPR and PBS of supporting the Democratic Party.
He called then for Congress to defund the Corporation of Public Broadcasting, but lawmakers ignored him.
Congress created CPB in 1967, believing it was in the public’s interest. CPB receives taxpayer funding and is directed by Congress to then offer grants to public broadcasters across the country.
PBS states that many of their stations are locally owned and operated, and would not be able to support rural and under-served communities without public funding. PBS believes that at least 15% would not be able to operate at all.
According to a PBS fact sheet, 60% of its viewers live in rural areas and 63% identify as Republican or Independent voters. Eighty-seven percent of non-internet homes and 56% of low-income homes view PBS.
In a survey conducted by The Harris Poll for NPR last week, 58% of Republicans and 77% of Democrats support public radio, and 59% of Republicans and 76% of Democrats agree it is a good value of taxpayer dollars.
The poll also found that 73% of Americans rely on public radio for emergency alerts and public safety.
Cutting funds to CPB
A rescission bill hasn’t passed Congress since 1992, and Sen. Thom Tillis, a Republican from Huntersville, who supported this bill, warned the Trump administration on Wednesday not to mess with him if he gave his stamp of approval on this one.
Many senators had concerns, not only with the impact cutting funding to CPB would have on their constituents, but because White House officials did not share their exact plans for cuts to foreign aid.
Tillis worried about humanitarian efforts in countries like Kenya and Ukraine, and was given assurances from the White House that those would remain untouched.
“If confidences are betrayed with a $9 billion bill, do you think you’ll have support for wide-open trust us for future, larger rescission,” Tillis asked. “I’m willing to go through this exercise and hopefully we can trust the administration to not go down the path that we’ve been assured they won’t when they’ve been given this broad ability to make about $7 billion in cuts. “
As for PBS and NPR, he said he believes that both had drifted over time, and eventually Congress would need to fund the two broadcasting organizations, but he wasn’t going to fight that on this bill.
Congressional approval
Trump’s rescission package first passed the House on June 12 in a 214-212 vote, with six members not voting. North Carolina’s 10 Republicans voted in support of clawing back funding, while the state’s four Democrats opposed it.
Senate Republicans worked overnight Wednesday to pass the bill, finishing at 2:18 a.m.
Tillis and Sen. Ted Budd, a Republican from Davie County, voted yes on the bill, which passed 51-48.
Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski and Susan Collins voted with Democrats in opposition. Sen. Tina Smith, a Democrat from Minnesota, missed the vote after being hospitalized earlier that evening.
But before senators passed the bill, they made several amendments to it, like stopping $400 million in cuts to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS relief. It also prevented the unknown cuts from earmarks to certain countries or for agriculture or nutrition assistance.
Because of those amendments, the House needed to review the bill and vote again for final approval.
If Congress failed to act by Friday, the money would have gone out the door as previously directed.
An earlier version of this story contained incorrect figures on which homes watch PBS.
This story was originally published July 17, 2025 at 4:15 PM with the headline "Congress serves ‘devastating blow’ to NC’s public broadcasting in overnight vote."
