President Donald Trump took to his Truth Social account on Thursday to demand Republican lawmakers fall in line over his legislation to cut back funding for public broadcasting.
"It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together," wrote Trump. "Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
PBS and NPR are primarily funded by listener contributions and corporate sponsorships; however, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a key source of funding for affiliate stations around the country to carry their content, and its defunding could lead to the closure of several stations in low-income and low-population areas that already have few local media options.
While Republicans are trying to move forward on the rescissions package following the passage of Trump's trillion-dollar tax cut megabill, many of the cuts are a sticking point, including the public broadcasting cuts, which the GOP is bracing for Democrats to put up a furious fight over.
The GOP theoretically only needs a simple majority to pass the bill, as it is purely budgetary and not subject to a filibuster; however, they also need Democratic votes in the near future to avert a government shutdown, potentially giving Democrats some additional leverage over the process.
Trump has sought to pull funding from public broadcasting for months and has unilaterally withheld money from the program, prompting NPR to file a lawsuit against the administration in May.
