(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) NPR CEO Katherine Maher launched a desperate fundraising campaign on Friday, just hours after Congress passed President Donald Trump’s rescission package, which stripped more than $1 billion in taxpayer funding from leftist outlets NPR and PBS.
The fundraising plea was puzzling, considering that NPR has long claimed that federal funding makes up just one percent of its total budget.
“Congress just voted to eliminate all federal funding for public media. This decision hurts communities across America. … It means fewer voices reflecting the richness of who we are as a nation,” Maher lamented in an Instagram video.
She then pivoted to a call for donations, pleading: “But you can help us keep this vital, vibrant service on air across our nation for our neighbors—for you, and for millions of Americans. Please donate now.”
NEW: NPR CEO Katherine Maher says communities across America will now suffer after Congress voted to strip over $1 billion from NPR and PBS.
Maher begged people to step in and donate as she tried convincing them that they would suffer without NPR.
So absurd you'd think… pic.twitter.com/KK7AG0XLYQ
— Collin Rugg (@CollinRugg) July 18, 2025
When Headline USA visited NPR’s homepage, it was immediately met with a pop-up banner begging for donations.
“We will fight to restore federal funding. In the meantime, your donation is more critical now than ever,” it read. “A donation—especially a recurring, monthly gift—will make an immediate difference.”
NPR’s appeals just a day after Congress voted to claw back $9 billion in previously approved government spending, which included $1.1 billion earmarked for NPR and PBS.
Trump celebrated the cut in a Truth Social post Thursday night: “HOUSE APPROVES NINE BILLION DOLLAR CUTS PACKAGE, INCLUDING ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED.”
David Bozell, president of the Media Research Center—a media watchdog which for decades has exposed NPR’s and PBS’s leftist bias—echoed Trump’s remarks.
“For nearly four decades, the Media Research Center has been the tip of the spear in exposing the bias — now open activism — of so-called ‘public’ broadcasting. PBS and NPR were chartered to provide objective journalism. Instead, we got drag shows for kids, gushing coverage of Democrats, and silence or smears for conservatives. The MRC made it our mission to hold them accountable — or end their taxpayer gravy train.”
For nearly four decades, the Media Research Center has been the tip of the spear in exposing the bias — now open activism — of so-called “public” broadcasting. PBS and NPR were chartered to provide objective journalism. Instead, we got drag shows for kids, gushing coverage of…
— David Bozell 🇺🇸 (@DavidBozell) July 17, 2025
