Trump’s $1.1bn funding cut for PBS makes progress

US president Donald Trump’s attempts to defund PBS have come a step closer after the House of Representatives voted in favour of cutting more than $1bn (£738.3m) in public media funding.

The legislation, which was requested directly by the US president, passed by 214 to 212 after key Republican lawmakers switched sides.

It means the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which funds both PBS and US radio service NPR, could see $1.1bn (£812.7m) removed from their budgets.

PBS is funded primarily by donations from foundations and members of the public, with federal funding making up around 15% of its budget.

The federal funding had been agreed earlier this year, but Trump subsequently put forward a ‘rescissions’ proposal to Congress in May, following recommendations from Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

His proposals included cutting the $1.1bn in funding to public media, as well as slashing $8.3bn from the country’s foreign aid budget.

The package of measures will now go before the US Senate later this summer where, because it is a ‘rescission request’, it will require just a simple majority to pass unlike the 60-vote threshold more frequently adopted.

Trump has had media in his sights since coming to office earlier this year, with investigations being launched into outlets and the US president suing CBS for $20m over an interview with Kamala Harris on its 60 Minutes show.

PBS, meanwhile, has claimed Trump’s actions to defund the organisation are a violation of the First Amendment.

Paula Kerger, PBS’s chief executive and president, said if the cuts were finalised by the Senate, they would have “a devastating impact on PBS and local member stations, particularly smaller and rural stations that rely on federal funding for a larger portion of their budgets”.

She added: “Without PBS and local member stations, Americans will lose unique local programming and emergency services in times of crisis.”