Cutting Off Big Bird’s Mic— And Yours… The GOP’s War On Public Broadcasting Just Got Very Real

Trump’s Latest Culture War Trophy Is Defunding Truth

By law, the rescissions bill had to be on Trump’s desk by today. So what is it all about? You don’t hear about “rescissions” everyday. It’s basically a DOGE thing mixed in with a little GOP revenge— a bill that cancels $9 billion in previously approved federal funding, primarily targeting foreign aid programs and public broadcasting. It was proposed by Señor TACO last month under the Congressional Budget and Impoundment Control Act of 1974, which allows the president to request rescissions of budget authority, subject to Congressional approval within 45 days. The bill passed the House on June 12 by the narrowest of votes (214-212) and a slightly different version Wednesday night (Thursday at 2:18 AM) by the Senate 51-48, with Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski voting against it, while Mitch McConnell supported the final vote after initially opposing procedural motions.

The bill rescinds $8 billion in foreign aid, including $2.5 billion from development assistance, $1.65 billion from the Economic Support Fund, $800 million from migration and refugee assistance and $496 million from international disaster assistance. It also cuts $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. A proposed $400 million cut to the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR) was removed from the Senate version, along with protections for certain programs like HIV/AIDS, tuberculosis, malaria, nutrition, maternal and child health, and specific country grants (Jordan, Palestine, Taiwan, Ukraine and Egypt).

Had Congress not acted by the deadline (today), the funds would have had to have been released. The Senate amended the House-passed bill, requiring it to return to the House for final approval before the deadline. We’ll see how many voters care enough about NPR to come out and vote against Republicans in 2026. Leaving the cruel cuts to foreign aid aside for a moment, this bill is a culture war hit job masquerading as fiscal discipline. The $1.1 billion cut to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting isn’t about budget trimming as much as it’s about silencing one of the few remaining national platforms not controlled by billionaire media barons or right-wing propaganda networks. It’s about gutting institutions that tell inconvenient truths, elevate independent journalism, and give voice to communities that don’t show up on Rupert Murdoch’s radar.

PBS and NPR are among the last broadcast networks where climate change is treated as fact, not debate; where union organizers, public school teachers and civil rights activists actually get airtime; where the arts still matter; and where not every interview ends with someone shouting “Hunter Biden’s laptop.” In rural America, public radio is often the only radio that isn’t pushing Jesus, guns or gold coins.

Republicans have hated public broadcasting for decades. Gingrich tried to kill it in the '90s. Trump proposed zeroing it out multiple times. Now, with this rescissions bill, they’ve come as close as they ever have to pulling the plug. It’s not about money. It's about ideology. The same people cheering for book bans and censoring AP African-American history want to decapitate PBS because of Sesame Street, Frontline, and coverage that doesn’t flatter Trump.

And Democrats? As usual, not exactly profile-in-courage stuff. Sure, they voted against it, but where was the barnstorming defense and the passionate articulation of why public broadcasting is vital in a democracy? Too many were afraid of being painted as defenders of “elite media,” even though this is about protecting one of the only truly public platforms left.

Mark Pinsley is the Controller of Lehigh County in eastern Pennsylvania. Blue America has been encouraging him to run for Congress. Yesterday he told us that “In a media landscape owned by billionaires like Bezos and increasingly shaped by misinformation from tools like Grok and other platforms backed by Elon Musk, defunding public media isn’t neutral. It’s strategic. It’s about silencing watchdogs, educators, and storytellers who refuse to follow a script. Ryan Mackenzie and his Republican colleagues voted to cut off the teachers who buy their own school supplies. They voted to shut down health programs that stop the next pandemic before it starts. They voted to take Big Bird off the air while billionaires buy media companies. They voted to rip apart one of the last places where rural families can get free, trusted information. They did not vote to save money. They voted to silence the truth.”

It won’t just be Elmo who goes silent. It’ll be investigative journalism into dark money networks. It’ll be educational programming for kids who don’t have Wi-Fi. It’ll be local affiliates in towns across America that rely on federal support to keep their signals going. And if Democrats don’t learn to draw a bright line here, they’ll find themselves trying to defend even darker silences down the road... or learning to live with them.

We asked progressive congressional candidate Randy Villegas how residents of California's Central Valley are going to feel about David Valadao supporting this package. “It's clear where Valadao's priorities lie,” he told us. “He voted to gut programming for our kids, voted to take away healthcare  and food from tens of thousands of people in this district. Valdao would rather fund Elon than Elmo, and our communities are fed up with politicians who sell us out.”

Before we met Randy Villegas, there was another wrking class proponent we knew anmed Randy: Ironstache, Randy Bryce, the guy who drove Paul Ryan out of Congress. Randy is running in southeast Wisconsin again. He told us that “If Democrats want to get voters on our side we need to stand up against whatever MAGA throws at us. We can’t give up. Who ever would have thought that a US president would wage war against Sesame Street? Just look at those slithering to get his attention. Bryan Steil is proud to have Donald’s endorsement. I wonder what kind of secrets they share?”

NPR-hater Mariannette Miller-Meeks is trying to defend her indefensible voting record from New Deal Democrat Travis Terrell. “Cutting funding to NPR and PBS is a direct hit to Iowans,” he told us, “especially in rural areas like many in our district. These aren't just media outlets. They're lifelines to communities. I remember times growing up when public radio was the first way we heard to seek shelter and knew to go to the basement during deadly storms. For generations, public broadcasting has provided free, high-quality educational programming for kids, focused on real issues that actually impact our lives, and served as a trusted warning system during emergencies. At a time when most media is becoming entertainment or political theater, NPR and PBS continue to tell the truth. These cuts don’t just affect the news, they will ultimately lead to loss of lives.”

Please consider contributing what you can to both Randy Villegas and Randy Bruce pluss Travis Terrell-- here on the Blue America Flip Cpngress page. Even $10 or $20 goes a long way in a grassroots campaign, especially in rural districts like.theirs. Let's help them send Valadao and Miller-Meeks to K Street.