‘Cruelty is the point’: Trump’s house moves to defund NPR, PBS, and anyone not wearing a red hat

The House of Representatives is preparing to vote on a bill proposed by the Trump istration that would cut roughly $9.4 billion in federal spending that was previously approved. This plan focuses on reducing funding for foreign aid programs and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (B), which s National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), as well as thousands of local public radio and TV stations.

According to ABC, Republicans describe these cuts as a way to remove unnecessary spending, while Democrats argue that the reductions will hurt the United States’ reputation abroad and harm people in need. While much of the spending would go elsewhere, the remaining $1.1 billion in proposed cuts would eliminate all funding for the B over the next two years, per NPR.

The House will decide whether to cut funding for public broadcasts

This money s more than 1,500 locally run public radio and TV stations, almost half of which are in rural areas. The Association of Public Television Stations has warned that many of these stations could shut down if the cuts . These stations provide important services like emergency alerts, educational shows, high school sports coverage, and local news.

The proposed cuts include about $8.3 billion taken from foreign aid programs. This involves around $900 million from the $10 billion that was approved for global health programs, including $500 million meant for fighting infectious diseases and improving child and maternal health and another $400 million for efforts to stop the spread of HIV worldwide.

An extra $800 million, one-fourth of the approved amount, would be cut from a program that helps displaced people by providing emergency shelter, clean water, sanitation, and family reunification services. Close to 45% of the proposed foreign aid cuts affect programs aimed at strengthening economies, democratic systems, and civil society in developing nations.

The istration is using a rarely applied process called a rescission request, which lets the president ask Congress to cancel money that was already approved. This starts a 45-day period during which the funds are frozen while Congress decides whether to approve the cuts. ing the measure only requires a simple majority in the Senate, which gives Republicans an advantage since, if they all agree, they can it without Democratic . The istration sees this as a trial run and has suggested there could be more rescission requests if this one succeeds.

Republicans defend the cuts by pointing to what they call wasteful spending, referencing some examples from reports by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which Elon Musk once led. Representative Chip Roy, a Republican from Texas, mentioned funding for climate change programs, pottery classes, and diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives as examples of unnecessary expenses.

DOGE doesn’t seem like a reliable source to use for cuts, but there are so many ways Trump is trying to cut funding. Democrats, however, say these cuts will result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of people and weaken U.S. influence around the world, especially compared to countries like China and Russia. Democratic leader Hakeem Jeffries called the cuts “cruelty is the point.”