Dear MoveOn member,
Next week, Donald Trump plans to formally ask Congress to rescind $1.1 billion in already-committed funding from PBS and public broadcasting.1
And Republicans plan to use a fast-track procedure where these retroactive cuts can be approved with a simple majority vote in the Senate.2
Since Republicans have narrow majorities in both the House and Senate—and the presidency—this is the most serious threat that public media has faced in decades, which is why we must take urgent action.
MoveOn members are pressuring on-the-fence Republicans, flooding Congress with calls, protesting, and saying, "Hands off public media. No cuts!"
Can you chip in $5 a month to help MoveOn's emergency campaign to save public broadcasting?
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Earlier this month, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene called for "the complete and total defunding and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting"—the agency that provides federal support to more than 1,500 public stations across the country.3
Trump’s new fast-track defunding threat increases the danger and moves up the timeline. If his plan to undo $1.1 billion in already-committed funds succeeds in Congress, then PBS, public broadcasting, and local public stations across the country will face an immediate funding catastrophe. And many smaller stations—especially those in rural areas—won’t survive at all.4
We need to raise a ruckus and demand that Republicans join Democrats to save public media, before it’s too late. Can you chip in $5 a month to help with our campaign?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
We’ve defeated past attempts to defund public broadcasting before—attempts under Ronald Reagan, Newt Gingrich, and George W. Bush all failed.5
Even when Republicans controlled both chambers of Congress and a Republican president was in the White House, public broadcasting survived—because public support was so overwhelming. And polls show that Americans still overwhelmingly oppose cuts.6
But this is a once-in-a-generation threat, and if we don’t make our voices heard, we really could lose.7 We’ve never faced a president so determined to punish his perceived enemies or a Congress so deferential.8
That’s why our emergency campaign is so crucial. With your help, we will:
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Flood Congress with calls and petitions demanding they reject Trump’s plan to rescind $1.1 billion in public media funding.
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Expose Trump’s plan in the media as a dangerous power grab to silence independent journalism, so impacted communities know what’s at stake.
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Mobilize millions of MoveOn members and other Americans to pressure key senators and representatives to vote NO on Trump’s plan to defund public broadcasting.
Help us sound the alarm, urgently, loudly, and powerfully—and join our fight to save public media in this country. Can you chip in $5 a month to help with our campaign?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Trump and the MAGA crew are hoping to jam these cuts through quickly, under the radar, with as little public attention as possible. We can’t let them succeed.
Public broadcasting belongs to all of us. It’s one of the last truly independent, commercial-free sources of news, education, and culture we have, reaching 99% of U.S. households for free.9
Trump and his cronies are trying to silence voices of truth and replace them with propaganda as part of a larger playbook to replace democracy with authoritarianism.10
Twitter/X has been taken over by Elon Musk, and its algorithm has been adjusted to promote Musk’s right-wing propaganda—while hate speech on the platform has surged by more than 50%.11
The Washington Post’s opinion pages were taken over by billionaire owner Jeff Bezos—its editorial pages have since been decimated.12
The Baltimore Sun was bought by David Smith, a Trump supporter known for parroting right-wing disinformation, causing a staff exodus and a massive decline in readership.13
And the list goes on.
We can’t let them win. But we have just a narrow window to stop this $1.1 billion cut and save one of the last truly independent sources of journalism out there.
We’re counting on a surge of grassroots support to meet this urgent moment. Can you chip in $5 a month to help with our campaign?
Yes, I'll chip in $5 a month. (If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your donation will go through immediately.)
No, I'm sorry, I can't make a monthly donation.
Let’s show Republicans in Congress that the American people stand with our public media and will fight like hell to save it from partisan destruction.
Thanks for all you do.
–Alexis, Eric, Oscar, Allison, and the rest of the team
Sources:
1. "White House to send Congress a formal request to nix $9.3B for PBS, NPR, State Department," Politico, April 14, 2025
https://www.politico.com/news/2025/04/14/white-house-to-send-congress-a-formal-request-to-nix-9-3b-for-pbs-state-department-00289543
2. Ibid.
3. "Marjorie Taylor Greene attacks NPR and PBS as ‘communist,’ calls for funding to ‘end,’" CNN, March 26, 2025
https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/26/media/npr-pbs-marjorie-taylor-greene-hearing/index.html
4. "Trump plans order to cut funding for NPR and PBS," NPR, April 15, 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5352827/npr-pbs-public-media-trump-rescission-funding
5. "Public Broadcasters’ Secret Weapon to Fight Cuts: Viewers Like You," Time, March 31, 2017
https://time.com/4721249/public-broadcasting-npr-pbs-funding-grassroots/
6. "Americans more likely to support than oppose continuing federal funding for NPR and PBS," Pew Research Center, March 26, 2025
https://www.pewresearch.org/short-reads/2025/03/26/americans-more-likely-to-support-than-oppose-continuing-federal-funding-for-npr-and-pbs/
7. "PBS and NPR are in a once-in-a-generation funding fight. They might well lose," CNN, April 16, 2025
https://www.cnn.com/2025/04/16/media/pbs-npr-funding-fight/index.html
8. "Republicans take a back seat as Trump steamrolls Congress with flurry of unilateral moves," NBC News, February 3, 2025
https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/republicans-back-seat-trump-steamroll-congress-unilateral-moves-rcna190465
9. "Trump plans order to cut funding for NPR and PBS," NPR, April 15, 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/04/15/nx-s1-5352827/npr-pbs-public-media-trump-rescission-funding
10. "Trump’s playbook is Viktor Orbán’s," Post on Substack by Robert Reich, April 15, 2025
https://robertreich.substack.com/p/trumps-playbook-is-victor-orbans
11. "Bezos' changes at 'Washington Post' lead to mass subscription cancellations — again," NPR, February 28, 2025
https://www.npr.org/2025/02/28/nx-s1-5312819/washington-post-bezos-subscriptions-cancellations
12. "Under Elon, X Has Become a Cesspool of Hate," Splinter, February 27, 2025
https://www.splinter.com/under-elon-x-has-become-a-cesspool-of-hate
13. "One year after Sinclair’s David Smith bought Baltimore Sun, union looks back," BaltimoreBrew, April 21, 2025
https://www.baltimorebrew.com/2025/01/15/one-year-after-sinclairs-david-smith-bought-baltimore-sun-union-looks-back/
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