Trump urges Congress to revoke $9.4 billion in funding for public broadcasters and foreign aid, sparking backlash over impacts on news and humanitarian programs

US President Donald Trump formally requested Congress on Tuesday to rescind $9.4 billion in previously approved federal funding, targeting foreign aid programmes and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which supports NPR and PBS.

The move represents a continuation of Trump’s broader effort to curb funding for organisations he and many Republicans view as biased against their political views. Last month, Trump signed an executive order directing CPB to halt direct funding to NPR and PBS, sparking lawsuits from both public broadcasters.

Congressional Republican leaders confirmed they had received Trump’s request to claw back $8.3 billion allocated for foreign assistance and $1.1 billion for CPB. House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) described the proposal as a measure to eliminate “wasteful spending” and promote a more efficient federal government. He pledged to bring a rescissions bill to the House floor, urging members to support what he called a “commonsense” fiscal move.

The rescissions package aligns with a wider GOP agenda to cut spending perceived as unnecessary, especially on media outlets and foreign aid. Critics argue that such cuts would severely impact the ability of public broadcasters to serve communities nationwide, especially rural and underserved areas.

NPR’s CEO Katherine Maher warned that revoking funds would cause immediate budget shortfalls, leading to the cancellation of popular programming, diminished local news coverage, and the potential closure of public radio music stations that rely on CPB for music licensing. She highlighted the risks to emergency alerting services and essential cultural and educational broadcasts that millions of Americans depend on daily.

Similarly, PBS CEO Paula Kerger said the proposed funding cuts would devastate member stations, especially smaller and rural ones that depend heavily on federal funding. She emphasised that without these stations, unique local programming and vital emergency services would be lost, depriving many Americans of critical information during crises. Kerger reaffirmed the importance of bipartisan congressional support in sustaining public media’s role as a free, public-private partnership for over 50 years.

On the foreign aid front, concerns have been raised over reductions to key programmes like PEPFAR, the US government’s flagship initiative to combat AIDS in Africa. Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) expressed worry over potential cuts to the global AIDS relief programme, stating she would examine the details more closely. Meanwhile, Senator John Kennedy (R-La.) predicted the rescissions package would ultimately pass Congress, indicating strong GOP backing.

The Trump administration’s effort to rescind funding reflects its broader priorities to reshape federal spending, with a particular focus on cutting what it considers “wasteful” expenditures on foreign aid and public broadcasting. However, critics argue that the cuts risk undermining services that provide vital information, education, and humanitarian assistance both domestically and internationally.

The rescissions request adds fuel to ongoing political battles over the future of public media funding and America’s role in global aid efforts. With NPR and PBS already engaged in legal action against the administration’s executive order, the fate of the $1.1 billion CPB funding and the broader $9.4 billion package will be closely watched by media, humanitarian organisations, and Congress.