BREAKING: Corporation for Public Broadcasting shuts down after federal funding loss

The letter reads that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting "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 letter goes on to say that "For nearly 60 years, CPB has carried out its Congressional 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."

A statement from CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison read that "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.

"CPB remains committed," she continued, "to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care."

CPB was established in 1967 as part of the Public Broadcasting Act, and its mission was to pass on Congressional funds to NPR, PBS, and other public broadcasting across the US. The money that was already allocated to CPB for this year by Congress was withdrawn as part of a rescissions bill, which revoked previously approved funding.

Concerns about CBP, PBS, and NPR are that the broadcast networks are heavily biased against Republicans, MAGA, and Trump. CPB said that most employees would lose their jobs on September 30, while a core group will remain to fully close the operations by the end of January 2026.

"CPB," the Washington Post reports, "not only served as a funding middleman between Congress and public media stations but also negotiated music rights and procured technical infrastructure on behalf of the stations."

The editor-in-chief of NPR has already stepped down. Both the heads of NPR and PBS were dragged before Congress earlier this year to attest to the value of their networks and to explain the leftist bias present in both broadcasting platforms. The CEO's said that they did not see any bias present that would be cause for concern.

Trump had initially tried to cut funding via executive order, but PBS sued, and Congress was brought in to pull funding in the appropriate way.