PBS CEO Paula Kerger blasted the Senate’s decision to revoke $1.1 billion in public media funding on Thursday — a move that President Trump has been pushing for in recent months — saying it would be “especially devastating” to smaller stations serving rural areas.
“The Senate just approved a rescissions package that goes against the will of the American people, the vast majority of whom trust PBS and believe we provide excellent value to their communities,” Kerger said in a statement on Thursday morning.
She continued: “These cuts will significantly impact all of our stations, but will be especially devastating to smaller stations and those serving large rural areas.”
Kerger said many PBS stations will now be forced to make “hard decisions” in the months and weeks ahead, presumably referring to headcount and program funding.
In May, Kerger had said President Trump’s push to cut PBS funding would spell the end for a number of local news stations.
Kerger, in an interview with Katie Couric at the time, lamented “there are stations that will go off the air” in rural areas if the president is successful; she did not project a specific number of PBS member stations that would cease to operate.
“I think we’ll figure out a way, through digital, to make sure there is some PBS content,” Kerger said. “But there won’t be anyone in the community creating local content. There won’t be a place for people to come together.”
President Trump has been leading the charge to defund PBS and NPR in recent months. He signed an executive order on May 1 calling for the end of taxpayer subsidization of both public broadcasters via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
“Unlike in 1967, when the CPB was established, today the media landscape is filled with abundant, diverse and innovative news options,” the order said. “Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalisti independence.”
The president has also called NPR and PBS “radical left monsters” that Republicans must defund in his social media posts. And last week, President Trump said any Republicans who do not vote in favor of taking funds away from PBS and NPR would lose his support.
Congress had allocated $535 million for public broadcasters this fiscal year, and PBS recently said it is it receiving $325 million in 2025 from the CPB, which accounts for 22% of its funding.
Following the Senate’s vote, the rescissions bill now moves to the House of Representatives which may vote as early as Thursday. Congress has a deadline of Friday to pass the bill.
Kerger, who has led PBS since 2006, concluded her statement on Thursday by saying she and her team are determined to find a way to stick around, without any public funding.
“There is nothing more American than PBS,” she said. “Despite today’s setback, we are determined to keep fighting to preserve the essential services we provide to the American public.”
