Founded in 1967 as part of the Public Broadcasting Act, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in the United States was a key funder of outlets including PBS and NPR, as well as more than 1,500 local TV and radio stations. Every year, it distributes more than $500 million worth of funding annually to these broadcasting outlets.

However, in July 2025, Congress approved Trump’s rescission package, which removed $1.1 billion in funding for public broadcasting that had previously been approved for the next two years.

As a result, CPB recently announced that its board of directors has voted to dissolve the organization. Its president and CEO, Patricia Harrison, framed the decision as a choice between "protect[ing] the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values" and "allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attack."

According to the Independent, PBS and NPR are currently seeking alternative funding, and some member stations have been forced to close down.

CPB has also stated that it will distribute all its remaining funds this month. The organization's archives are set to be preserved at the University of Maryland, where they will also be made available to the public.

“For more than half a century, CPB existed to ensure that all Americans — regardless of geography, income, or background — had access to trusted news, educational programming, and local storytelling,” said Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO. "When the Administration and Congress rescinded federal funding, our Board faced a profound responsibility: CPB’s final act would be to protect the integrity of the public media system and the democratic values by dissolving, rather than allowing the organization to remain defunded and vulnerable to additional attacks."

"After nearly six decades of innovative, educational public television and radio service, Congress eliminated all funding for CPB, leaving the Board with no way to continue the organization or support the public media system that depends on it," said Ruby Calvert, CPB Board of Directors chair. "Yet, even in this moment, I am convinced that public media will survive, and that a new Congress will address public media’s role in our country because it is critical to our children’s education, our history, culture and democracy to do so."