Matsui, Markey Criticize Trump Order to End CPB Funding for PBS and NPR
House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., and Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., criticized President Donald Trump on Friday for issuing an executive order instructing CPB to cease funding NPR and PBS (see 2505020044).
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“No president is above the law, and no president can weaponize public broadcasting as a personal propaganda machine,” Matsui said. Trump “is not attacking public media because he cares about the truth. He’s targeting it because it tells the truth -- even when it doesn’t serve his interests. Time and again, he has used the power of his office to go after independent outlets that refuse to echo his talking points. I will keep fighting to protect public media and the First Amendment from the Trump Administration’s baseless attacks.”
Markey likewise vowed to “fight to maintain CPB’s funding and protect the integrity of public broadcasting.” The order “is both illegal and a direct threat to the survival of local public media stations across the country,” he said. “These stations are a lifeline for rural and urban communities alike, offering everything from educational children’s programming to life-saving emergency alerts. Eliminating funding for public media punishes free expression and jeopardizes trusted sources of news, culture, and emergency information for communities everywhere. Local stations must have the resources and autonomy to serve their audiences without political interference.”