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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) confirmed Friday it will cease operations after Republicans in Congress eliminated $1.1 billion in federal funding for the organization, which has been a primary financial source for NPR and PBS.
“Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison <a href="https://www.axios.com/2025/08/01/cpb-npr-pbs-corporation-public-broadcasting">said</a> in a statement.
The organization notified employees that most staff positions would be eliminated by the end of the fiscal year on September 30.
“CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care,” Harrison added.
Founded in 1967, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a nonprofit tasked with doling out government funds to local radio and TV stations around the country.
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The CPB had already been approved for $535 million in government funding this year before the funding was <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-house-delivers-trumps-9b-cut-to-global-aid-and-public-broadcasting-gets-final-approval">clawed back</a>, with millions of dollars going directly to NPR and PBS, to the anger of many conservatives.
“It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions [sic] Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN &amp; MSDNC put together,” Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taking-back-control-senate-votes-to-claw-back-9b-from-foreign-aid-public-broadcasting">said</a> in a post on Truth Social in mid-July.
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As The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/taxpayer-funded-pbs-show-pushes-93-anti-trump-bias-study-finds">reported</a>, a Media Research Center (MRC) study found the taxpayer-funded PBS program “Washington Week with The Atlantic” consistently exhibited a staggering 93% negative bias against Republicans and the Trump administration over three months, despite claiming to provide “objective” political coverage.
“The panelists spent 83 minutes opining on Republicans, focusing on Trump and his administration, in 93% negative fashion (77 minutes negative, six minutes positive),” the MRC report reads.
House Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/anti-american-airwaves-gop-lawmakers-grill-nprpbs-execs-over-institutional-bias">grilled</a> NPR chief executive Katherine Maher in July on the organization’s bias against conservatives, focusing in particular on the cover-up of the Hunter Biden laptop story during the 2020 election, which Maher attempted to backtrack on.
Former NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner, who resigned after publishing an essay critical of the network’s leftward shift, was referenced by Republican lawmakers as further evidence of the outlet’s bias, The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/npr-editor-who-accused-network-of-liberal-bias-resigns">reported</a>.
In a text message to The New York Times, he wrote that he believes the organization should “openly acknowledge and embrace its progressive orientation” and decline federal support, contradicting Maher’s claims of NPR’s supposed objectivity.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will cease all operations by January 2026, in a major blow to both broadcasters.
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US-BUSINESS-NPR

Corporation For Public Broadcasting To Shut Down After Trump, Congress Pull Federal Funding

Congress

Corporation for Public Broadcasting

Mainstream Media

Media Bias

News

Poltiics

Former NPR CEO Vivian Schiller <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/former-npr-ceo-admits-mixing-journalism-federal-funding-recipe-disaster">said</a> in an MSNBC interview Monday that “I have long believed that mixing journalism and federal funding is just a recipe for disaster.” 
This comes as the Senate <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/house-rescissions-foreign-aid-public-media/">passed</a> Trump’s $9 billion rescissions package on Sunday, which is awaiting the President’s signature to become law. The bill repeals over $1 billion in federal funding allocated to public media, including broadcast corporations like PBS and NPR. 
“In many ways, I think this is an opportunity for a reset,” Schiller said. “I think the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which was a very bureaucratic organization that was, still is today, doling out that money, will go away. Let’s reset. Let’s come up with a new governance structure.”
Opponents argued the cuts will largely affect local news stations and rural Americans. 
CPB president Patricia Harrison said that “many local public radio and television stations will be forced to shut down.”
Rep. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT), top Democrat on the House Appropriations Committee, <a href="https://thehill.com/business/budget/5409384-trump-public-media-foreign-aid-cuts/">told</a> the Hill that rural communities are “frightened to death” that “they’re not going to have access to important information or alerts about weather situations, information that they need to know, education for their kids, because they’re not in communities where there are multiple sources of information.”
Schiller disagreed on the necessity of local news being impaired by the cuts: &#8220;Those of us that care about local journalism are going to help them,&#8221; she said. “The fact is this is done. The money is gone. The rescission has happened. So my perspective now is let’s move on.&#8221;
She added, &#8220;I tend to look at the bright side of life and say let’s just find a better way forward, because there were problems with the former system.&#8221;
The rescissions bill passed the House 51-48, largely along party lines. Republicans have long accused NPR and PBS of having a liberal <a href="https://www.foxnews.com/media/npr-head-asks-critics-show-me-story-proves-liberal-bias-amid-defunding-threats">bias</a>.
“NPR reported that country music and birds are racist, told American people to stop eating beef, and promoted the Russia-gate conspiracy. No person with a brain above a single-celled organism would call these articles fair and balanced,” Senator John Kennedy said in a series of <a href="https://x.com/SenJohnKennedy/status/1945554069289853418">posts to X</a> on Wednesday in response to current NPR CEO Katherine Maher’s challenge to Republicans to find one clear example of bias. 
&#8220;NPR reported that there is no evidence that biological men have an unfair advantage over biological women in sports. NPR also called America’s interstate highways racist. I did not know our highways were racist. I thought they were concrete, but not according to NPR.”

In this photo illustration, National Public Radio (NPR) logo

Ex-NPR CEO: Mixing Journalism And Federal Funding A ‘Recipe For Disaster’

National Public Radio (NPR)

Politics

The Senate voted 51-50 on Tuesday to move forward a White House-backed $9 billion spending cut bill that would slash foreign aid and funding for the parent entity of NPR and PBS. 
The procedural vote moves the recissions package to the last debate and amendment stage before it receives a final vote. Vice President JD Vance broke the tie in the chamber after Republican Senators Mitch McConnell (KY), Lisa Murkowski (AK), and Susan Collins (ME) joined the Democrats to vote against the bill. 
The proposal will cut previously approved funding for international organizations, the Democracy Fund, migration and refugee assistance, the Clean Technology Fund, the U.S. Institute of Peace, USAID, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR and PBS. The cuts were first proposed by the White House and the Department of Government Efficiency project in May. 
After meeting with Office of Management and Budget Director Russell Vought, Senate Republicans <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/senate-republicans-drop-aids-relief-cuts-from-rescissions-package?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Senate+Republicans+Drop+%E2%80%98AIDS+Relief%E2%80%99+Cuts+From+Rescissions+Package">are planning</a> to remove a provision from the House-backed version of the bill that cuts $400 million in funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief (PEPFAR). 
&#8220;There was a lot of interest among our members in doing something on the PEPFAR issue, and so that’s reflected in the substitute,&#8221; Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/congress/senate-republicans-shrink-trumps-spending-cut-package-ahead-key-vote-rcna218962">said</a>. &#8220;And we hope that if we can get this across the finish line in the Senate, that the House would accept that one small modification that ends up making the package still about a $9 billion rescissions package. A little less than what was sent over the House, but nonetheless a significant down payment on getting rid of waste, fraud, abuse in our government.&#8221;
The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-says-media-pushing-fake-news-about-global-hiv-aids-funding?author=Leif+Le+Mahieu&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=0&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=White+House+Says+Media+Pushing+Fake+News+About+Global+HIV%2FAIDS+Funding">also said</a> Tuesday that it would not be making wide-scale cuts to global AIDS/HIV funding. 
The recissions package has until Friday to make it to President Donald Trump’s desk, or the previously approved spending will begin to be distributed. Trump has threatened not to support or endorse any senator who votes against the spending cuts. 
“It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN &amp; MSDNC put together,” he posted on Truth Social last week. “Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
Senator Mike Rounds (R-SD), who was initially reported to be unsupportive of the bill due to concerns that American Indian public radio stations would lose funding, stated that he had reached an agreement with the Trump administration. He voted to advance the bill on Tuesday. 
&#8220;This is a direct agreement with OMB that they would transfer the funds over to the Department of the Interior. The Department of the Interior has agreed to accept it and to issue the grants,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We&#8217;ve told them very clearly what we want is those resources to be made available to these Native American radio stations.&#8221;

Republican Lawmakers Work To Pass Trump’s “One, Big, Beautiful Bill” On Capitol Hill

Senate Republicans Move Closer To Finalizing $9B DOGE Cuts Ahead Of Friday Deadline

Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE)

Donald Trump

JD Vance

John Thune

Office of Management and Budget (OMB)

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Russ Vought

Senate

Trump Administration

President Donald Trump said Thursday that he would not support any Republican who voted against defunding the parent company of NPR and PBS in an upcoming bill that would enshrine DOGE cuts into law. 
Trump urged Republicans in the Senate to back a $9.4 billion rescission package already passed by the House, which would include more than $1 billion in reductions for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the nonprofit that was created by Congress and is funded by the federal government but is not a governmental agency. The House passed the White House&#8217;s proposed package 214-212 last month, and the Senate is expected to vote next week. 
“It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING (PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN &amp; MSDNC put together,” Trump posted on Truth Social. “Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!”
The legislation <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/house-passes-doge-cuts-targeting-foreign-aid-npr-and-pbs">would cut</a> $8.3 billion in foreign spending, including funding for “Net Zero Cities” in Mexico, Iraqi “Sesame Street,” and global LGBTQ+ initiatives, as well as $1.1 billion from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. In May, Trump signed an <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/05/ending-taxpayer-subsidization-of-biased-media/">executive order</a> directing the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop funding NPR and PBS, saying the entities were deeply infected with leftwing bias. 
“The [Corporation for Public Broadcasting]’s governing statute reflects principles of impartiality: the CPB may not ‘contribute to or otherwise support any political party,’” the order says. “The CPB fails to abide by these principles to the extent it subsidizes NPR and PBS.  Which viewpoints NPR and PBS promote does not matter. What does matter is that neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens.”
NPR and several smaller publicly funded networks have challenged the order in court, <a href="https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.dcd.280953/gov.uscourts.dcd.280953.1.0_1.pdf">arguing</a> that it contradicts previous funding allocations made by Congress and violates the First Amendment. The courts have yet to issue a ruling on the suit, but parts of the argument could become moot if the Senate votes to pull the previously authorized spending. 
Some Republicans, including Sens. Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, have already voiced opposition to the proposed cuts. The Wall Street Journal <a href="https://www.wsj.com/politics/policy/trump-threatens-gop-senators-over-vote-on-doge-cuts-f5a86c19?utm_source=chatgpt.com">reported</a> that Senator Mike Rounds of South Dakota also indicated he was seeking an exemption for the funding of American Indian public radio stations.

Trump departs for Texas, calls deadly flooding ‘a horrible thing’

Trump Warns Republican Senators: Defund NPR And PBS Or Lose My Endorsement

DOGE

Lisa Murkowski

spending

Susan Collins

WASHINGTON—NPR announced last week that it’s suing the Trump administration over an executive order slashing its congressionally appropriated funding — a case that could have serious ramifications for the future of publicly-funded media.
But if Kat Cammack has her way, it won’t really matter.
The Florida congresswoman joined Senator Jim Banks to <a href="https://www.congress.gov/119/bills/hr1595/BILLS-119hr1595ih.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduce</a> the Defund NPR Act, which, if passed would codify Trump’s executive order, and ensure that “no Federal funds may, directly or indirectly, be made available to” outlets like NPR and PBS. Taxpayers spend around <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/npr-ceo-implodes">$535 million</a> annually on NPR and PBS through federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Speaking to The Daily Wire this week, Cammack noted the absurdity of forcing taxpayers to fund public media outlets whose news content is “one giant editorial.”
“They&#8217;re not just biased — it&#8217;s effectively state-funded propaganda at this point, for the progressive left,” Cammack told The Daily Wire in a wide-ranging interview. “At the end of the day, taxpayers should not be funding propaganda, particularly one that has such an obvious political slant.”
Cammack’s bill is one part of the Republican Study Committee’s <a href="https://rsc-pfluger.house.gov/media/press-releases/republican-study-committee-launches-set-stone-initiative-cement-trumps-legacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Set In Stone Initiative</a>, an effort to “to transform President Trump&#8217;s executive victories into permanent legislation.” Three of Cammack’s fellow committee members — Reps. <a href="https://tenney.house.gov/media/press-releases/congresswoman-tenney-introduces-defund-government-sponsored-propaganda-act" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Claudia Tenney</a> (NY), <a href="https://jackson.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=2301" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ronny Jackson</a> (TX), and <a href="https://strong.house.gov/media/press-releases/congressman-strong-introduces-bill-prohibit-federal-funding-biased-national" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Dale Strong</a> (AL) have also introduced bills that would defund NPR and PBS.
Trump <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/trump-defunds-npr-and-pbs-no-media-outlet-has-a-constitutional-right-to-taxpayer-subsidies">defunded</a> NPR and PBS earlier this month, writing that &#8220;government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence.&#8221; The president&#8217;s executive order followed the April release of a White House report <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/the-npr-pbs-grift-has-ripped-us-off-for-too-long/">cataloguing</a> the &#8220;radical, woke propaganda disguised as &#8216;news,'&#8221; that NPR and PBS produce.
The White House&#8217;s efforts to defund public media were turbocharged by NPR CEO Katherine Maher&#8217;s <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/in-classic-liberal-white-lady-moment-npr-ceo-mocked-for-old-tweets-how-white-of-me">disastrous testimony</a> at a March congressional hearing, during which lawmakers grilled her on past social media posts exposing the executive&#8217;s liberal bias.
Now, NPR is fighting back, claiming in its lawsuit that Trump’s executive order is tantamount to “the government [acting] with a retaliatory purpose in violation of the First Amendment.” Cammack isn’t buying it.
“Spare me! You are the very same people who just said that the First Amendment is the largest impediment to censorship that they are trying to push. I mean, do they hear themselves?”
Cammack isn’t pulling punches — but that doesn’t mean she’s happy to see what’s become of American public broadcasting.
“I&#8217;m a millennial,” she says. “We grew up with Sesame Street, and it didn&#8217;t use to be this way where everything had a political slant.&#8221;
“It makes me sad,” Cammack adds. “You know, I&#8217;m seven months pregnant and I&#8217;m like, man, I&#8217;m gonna have to bust out old VHS tapes of Sesame Street or back when Sesame Street wasn&#8217;t so political.”
Ultimately though, it’s not so much the politics as the taxpayer-funded politics that irks Cammack. Taxpayer funding, she notes, “only accounts for such a small portion of [NPR and PBS’s] total overall budget, but that’s still too much, from a taxpayer standpoint.”
“They&#8217;re not gonna go straight off the air. And if they did, that would just be another ploy to try to gin up the public interest in this,” Cammack says.
“When we have $37 trillion in national debt, when Americans are struggling at the grocery store and the gas pump, we shouldn&#8217;t be on the hook” for public outlets that “want to push their continuous narrative and virtue signaling and make everyone feel like they&#8217;re a bunch of idiots.”
To Cammack, it all comes back to respecting and defending the taxpayers. Like any fiscal hawk worth their salt, she recoils at the notion that bureaucrats are held to different standards than the American people.
“I will always remember when I had to go get my first credit card,” Cammack says. “I was so religiously like, ‘I gotta pay this. I gotta pay it in full. I gotta do this.’”
Not so the federal government, who, Cammack notes, has “more credit cards and software licenses that are being used by government employees than there are government employees.”
“The math isn&#8217;t mathing!” she says.
“These are the unelected, nameless, faceless bureaucrats that basically run our government, like a shadow government,” she adds. “The scary part though, isn&#8217;t that that was happening. The scary part is that people are gonna fight us on cutting this out.”
People, perhaps — but not necessarily the American people. Even the most anti-Trump people she encounters in her district, she says, on some level admits “that there has just been rampant abuse across the board.”
“I still think at people&#8217;s core there&#8217;s a little bit of common sense,” she says. “I mean, the fact that you&#8217;re finding people on social security that are 167 — get me their nutritional plan!”
That core of common sense, she says, is why she has high hopes that the Department of Government Efficiency will continue to succeed long after Elon Musk’s departure.
“I think he has done a tremendous service to the country,” she says of Musk. “I mean, he really did it as a patriot.”
As a Special Government Employee, Musk was required to step down from his government perch after 130 days, which he did this week. Cammack has as high hopes for the Tesla founder as she does for DOGE after this federally-mandated parting of ways.
“He loves this country. But, let&#8217;s be real: the man wants to colonize Mars,” she says. “He started something. It&#8217;s now our job to finish it.”
It won’t be easy. Shortly before Cammack spoke to The Daily Wire, the United States Court of International Trade ruled that Trump’s “Liberation Day” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/worlds-stock-markets-react-to-court-ruling-against-trumps-tariffs?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=19&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=World%E2%80%99s+Stock+Markets+React+To+Court+Ruling+Against+Trump%E2%80%99s+Tariffs">tariffs were illegal</a>. The White House and its congressional allies have a long battle ahead.
But Cammack is no stranger to a fight. Perched behind a laptop emblazoned with a Gadsden Flag, Cammack uses her time on the House floor to take Democrats to task — forcing Biden administration officials to confront the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-lawmaker-confronts-biden-official-with-jar-of-wristbands-showing-grim-reality-at-border?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=GOP+Lawmaker+Confronts+Biden+Official+With+Jar+Of+Wristbands+Showing+%E2%80%98Grim%E2%80%99+Reality+At+Border">brutal reality</a> of human trafficking at the southern border, and introducing a bill to ban lawmakers from <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/republican-proposes-banning-foreign-flags-on-house-floor?author=Daniel+Chaitin&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=Republican+Proposes+Banning+Foreign+Flags+On+House+Floor">displaying foreign flags</a>, a rebuke of her Democratic colleagues waving Ukrainian flags to support foreign aid.
<div id="attachment_594169" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption aligncenter"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-594169" class="size-large wp-image-594169" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1257352558-e1690410555140-864x576.jpg" alt="Rep. Kat Cammack, R-Fla., attends the House Judiciary Select Subcommittee on the Weaponization of the Federal Government to &quot;examine abuses seen at the Bureau and how the FBI has retaliated against whistleblowers,&quot; in Rayburn Building on Thursday, May 18, 2023." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1257352558-e1690410555140-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1257352558-e1690410555140-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1257352558-e1690410555140-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2023/07/GettyImages-1257352558-e1690410555140.jpg 1200w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)</div>
Once you&#8217;ve <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/gop-rep-who-showed-baby-formula-stocked-at-border-for-illegals-calls-buttigieg-a-liar?author=Hank+Berrien&amp;category=News&amp;elementPosition=undefined&amp;row=0&amp;rowType=Vertical+List&amp;title=GOP+Rep.+Who+Showed+Baby+Formula+Stocked+At+Border+For+Illegals+Calls+Buttigieg+A+Liar">called Pete Buttigieg a liar</a> on Face The Nation, calling out the federal judiciary is nothing.
“If we wanted judges to continually make all these decisions on behalf of the American people, we could just do away at that point with Congress and the presidency,” Cammack says, adding that the ability to levy tariffs is well within the president’s authority.
“The thing about judicial activism is it&#8217;s gotten more brazen over the years,” she adds. “And now you see it in full force.”
It’s serious stuff, and Cammack takes it seriously. But even she has to laugh at some of the reactions to Trump and his policies. Like the fact that Democrats and members of the media celebrating the tariff decision “never had anything to say when the Supreme Court ruled that Joe Biden couldn&#8217;t unilaterally forgive student loans.”
“This is what&#8217;s crazy to me: Joe Biden was spending money. Donald Trump is trying to save money. And so the courts are totally fine when you&#8217;re spending other people&#8217;s money.”
“But heaven forbid you get someone who&#8217;s actually trying to right the ship and save taxpayer money,” she laughs.
“Oh my gosh, the sky is falling!”
Shortly after the interview wrapped, a federal appeals court <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/appeals-court-puts-trumps-sweeping-liberation-day-tariffs-back-in-place?author=Tim+Pearce&amp;category=undefined&amp;elementPosition=7&amp;row=3&amp;rowHeadline=Latest+News&amp;rowType=Vertical+Carousel&amp;title=Appeals+Court+Puts+Trump%E2%80%99s+Sweeping+%E2%80%98Liberation+Day%E2%80%99+Tariffs+Back+In+Place">reinstated</a> Trump&#8217;s tariffs.

House GOP 3/11/25

Kat Cammack Isn’t Falling For NPR’s Crocodile Tears

Elon Musk

Florida

Tariffs

The Department of Education, led by Education Secretary Linda McMahon, has cut off funding for a grant that supported controversial children’s programming at PBS and elsewhere.
The Trump administration has slashed funding to NPR and PBS. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS, announced in a <a href="https://cpb.org/pressroom/CPB-Statement-US-Department-Education-Terminating-Ready-Learn-Grant" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a> on Tuesday that the federal government terminated the $23 million Ready To Learn program.
“Nearly every parent has raised their kids on public broadcasting’s children’s content. For the past 30 years, Ready To Learn-funded PBS KIDS content has produced measurable, real-world impacts on children’s learning,” said Patricia Harrison, the president and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. “We will work with Congress and the Administration to preserve funding for this essential program.”
Education spokeswoman Madi Biedermann said the Ready To Learn grant was being used to fund “racial justice educational programming,” according to <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2025/05/06/us/politics/doe-kills-grant-pbs-childrens-shows.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">The New York Times</a>.
“The Trump Department of Education will prioritize funding that supports meaningful learning and improving student outcomes, not divisive ideologies and woke propaganda,” said Biedermann.
The grant’s termination came after President Donald Trump last week signed an executive order for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies to cut funding to NPR and PBS.
Ready To Learn funded productions such as the popular children’s show “Sesame Street,” which has been mired in controversy in recent years over programs related to Black Lives Matter, the LGBT movement, and other political agendas.
The official social media accounts of “Sesame Street” have endorsed gay and trans “pride” by sharing the Pride Progress flag.
“On our Street, we celebrate inclusion, belonging, and freedom of authentic self-expression. Happy #PrideMonth to all the people in our neighborhoods!” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sesame-street-dragged-on-twitter-for-sharing-progress-pride-flag" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> one June 2023 post.
In 2022, the popular children’s show encouraged children to receive the COVID vaccine.
“Thanks, @sesamestreet for saying parents are allowed to have questions! You then have @elmo aggressively advocate for vaccinating children UNDER 5. But you cite ZERO scientific evidence for this,” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/ted-cruz-blasts-sesame-street-for-promoting-covid-vaccine-for-young-kids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">posted</a> at the time.
In June 2021, “Sesame Street” aired a “Family Day” episode that featured a gay couple, Dave and Frank, and their daughter, Mia. Alan Muraoka, who co-directed the episode, <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/love-is-love-says-director-of-sesame-street-family-day-episode-which-stars-married-gay-couple-and-their-daughter" target="_blank" rel="noopener">touted</a> it on Facebook with a message of “Love is love,” a slogan used to spurn traditional views on marriage and family.
In March of that year, “Sesame Street” <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/sesame-street-casts-black-muppets-to-teach-children-the-abcs-of-racial-literacy" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> two black characters, a father and son named Elijah and Wesley Walker, to teach children about “racial literacy.”
PBS’s agenda-driven content has stretched beyond “Sesame Street.” The White House <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/white-house-publishes-list-of-grievances-trashing-pbs-npr-grift-that-has-ripped-us-off" target="_blank" rel="noopener">released</a> a list of grievances against PBS last month to justify slashing funding to the broadcaster. The list includes programming pushing transgenderism as early as 2017 in a movie titled “Real Boy” about a transgender-identifying teen.

Linda McMahon

Trump Admin Cuts Funds For ‘Divisive,’ ‘Woke’ Children’s Programing At PBS

Trump Administration Cuts Funds For ‘Divisive,’ ‘Woke’ Children’s Programing At PBS

A conservative media watchdog has a new top priority — defunding NPR and PBS.
The Media Research Center (MRC) is leading a push to defund both public media outlets, urging President Donald Trump, congressional leaders, and governors to strip taxpayer subsidies to these &#8220;far-left media outlets,&#8221; the group revealed exclusively to The Daily Wire.
The watchdog urged the Trump administration to include the &#8220;complete defunding&#8221; of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its affiliates, PBS and NPR, in a rescission package that could soon be sent to Congress.
&#8220;Taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize a media entity that has outlived its original purpose and refuses to operate in a transparent manner,&#8221; the MRC wrote in its letter to Trump.
The watchdog is calling on the CEOs of NPR and PBS to subject themselves to public audits and asking members of Congress to refuse to meet with their lobbyists until those audits are done.
The MRC is also calling on congressional leaders to repeal the legislation that created the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Finally, the group is calling on state governors and federal agencies to halt all discretionary grants to PBS and NPR until the outlets are audited.
A coalition of critics joined the MRC in signing letters to elected officials, including Seth Dillon, owner of the Babylon Bee; Mike Gonzalez, senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation; Terry Schilling, president of the American Principles Project; Steven Ertelt, editor at LifeNews.com; and Austin Ruse, president of the Center for Family and Human Rights.
&#8220;This action is in concert with your historic promise and rapid delivery of cutting waste, fraud, and abuse across the federal government,&#8221; the coalition wrote to Trump.
The group argued that the &#8220;original justification&#8221; for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting &#8220;no longer holds.&#8221;
&#8220;In today’s media-rich environment, Americans have unlimited access to news, entertainment, and educational programming,&#8221; they wrote in their letter to Trump.
&#8220;NPR’s and PBS’s demonstrable, documented bias further erodes CPB’s credibility,&#8221; the group wrote. &#8220;NPR’s audience overwhelmingly identifies as liberal, reinforcing the reality that public broadcasting is not a neutral service but a taxpayer-funded ideological platform. Americans should not be forced to finance a network that caters to one side of the political spectrum.&#8221;
Dan Schneider, vice president of the MRC, told The Daily Wire that defunding PBS and NPR is his organization&#8217;s &#8220;top priority right now.&#8221;
The goal is to &#8220;eliminate every dime of taxpayer money that subsidizes these liberal media behemoths,&#8221; Schneider said.
&#8220;This is the most focused and aggressive takedown these outlets have ever faced. It may be the last, best chance taxpayers will ever have to unburden themselves from these leftist propaganda outlets once and for all,&#8221; he said.

EXCLUSIVE: Media Watchdog Goes Full Throttle On Defunding NPR, PBS With Letters To Trump, Congress

Legacy Media

Media

Media Research Center

The White House released a <a href="https://www.whitehouse.gov/articles/2025/04/the-npr-pbs-grift-has-ripped-us-off-for-too-long/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">report</a> on Monday, delivering a detailed laundry list of grievances with National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and making the case for stripping the two networks of any and all taxpayer funding.
&#8220;For years, American taxpayers have been on the hook for subsidizing National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), which spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as &#8216;news,'&#8221; the report stated — and followed that with a list of examples of such &#8220;woke propaganda.&#8221;
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
For years, Americans have been on the hook for subsidizing NPR and PBS as they spread radical, woke propaganda disguised as “news.”
As <a href="https://twitter.com/POTUS?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@POTUS</a> has said, funding their biased content is a waste.
🧵 Here are some examples of the trash that passes for “news” at NPR and PBS: <a href="https://t.co/7xlZOKGay1">pic.twitter.com/7xlZOKGay1</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1911929632846213532?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
The list only went back a little over a decade to a 2015 segment on NPR which featured the &#8220;population of anthropomorphic animal enthusiasts known as &#8216;furries.'&#8221;
The list also highlighted two 2017 entries from PBS — a panel discussion on &#8220;white privilege&#8221; and what it &#8220;mean(s) to be woke&#8221; and a movie called &#8220;Real Boy&#8221; that followed the story of a trans-identifying teenager who &#8220;navigates adolescence and sobriety&#8221; among other challenges.
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">
In 2017, PBS produced an entire movie celebrating a transgender teenager’s so-called “changing gender identity.” <a href="https://t.co/RScnFANHmB">pic.twitter.com/RScnFANHmB</a>
&mdash; Rapid Response 47 (@RapidResponse47) <a href="https://twitter.com/RapidResponse47/status/1911929700961993142?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">April 14, 2025</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
That same year, NPR ran a story titled &#8220;Cannibalism: It’s ‘Perfectly Natural.'&#8221;
Other entries included a 2020 NPR segment addressing the &#8220;racial origins of fat phobia,&#8221; a 2021 claim from NPR that &#8220;animals deserve pronouns, too,&#8221; a 2022 NPR feature titled &#8220;What ‘Queer Ducks’ can teach teenagers about sexuality in the animal kingdom,&#8221; a 2022 dig into a &#8220;whole community of genderqueer dinosaur enthusiasts,&#8221; and a 2024 Valentine&#8217;s Day special dedicated to &#8220;non-binary deer&#8221; and other &#8220;queer&#8221; members of the animal kingdom.
The complaints about PBS followed a similar pattern, and included a one-sided 2020 &#8220;Sesame Street&#8221; town hall with CNN on racism amid the George Floyd riots, a 2021 children&#8217;s special featuring a drag queen named &#8220;Lil&#8217; Miss Hot Mess,&#8221; and a 2024 documentary &#8220;making the case for reparations.&#8221;
The White House report also laid out evidence that neither NPR nor PBS showed any tolerance for viewpoints that didn&#8217;t align with the political Left — from NPR&#8217;s intentional suppression of the Hunter Biden laptop story to the cover-up of former President Joe Biden&#8217;s cognitive decline, among other things. A study conducted by the Media Research Center during the 20214 presidential election revealed that PBS&#8217; coverage of the Democratic National Convention was 88% positive — and the coverage of the Republican National Convention was 72% negative.

50 years of Sesame Street – Ernie and Bert

White House Publishes List Of Grievances Trashing ‘PBS, NPR Grift’ That Has ‘Ripped Us Off’

White House Publishes List Of Grievances Trashing 'PBS, NPR Grift' That Has 'Ripped Us Off'

White House

A big hearing on the Hill took place yesterday involving the heads of NPR and PBS, both of which are publicly funded.
The U.S. taxpayers spend approximately <a href="https://www.npr.org/2025/03/25/nx-s1-5340686/pbs-npr-congress-hearing-marjorie-taylor-greene" target="_blank" rel="noopener">$535 million</a> annually on NPR and PBS through federal funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Over the last decade, taxpayers have spent about $5.35 billion on these outlets.
NPR and PBS are propagandistic outlets that have huge listenership. In 2022, NPR — which is just trash stacked atop trash — had roughly <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/public-broadcasting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">23.5 million</a> average weekly listeners for its terrestrial broadcast programming.
NPR is a Left-wing agitprop organization that puts out modulated voices with well-produced music, segments, and sounds very easy to listen to. But it turns out that it&#8217;s just Noam Chomsky propaganda.
Meanwhile, PBS NewsHour attracted about <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/journalism/fact-sheet/public-broadcasting/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">882,000 viewers</a> on average in 2022, which means that about 57 million viewers tuned into PBS content during any given month in 2022.
These are large numbers. Sixty-seven percent of all households in the United States, over 160 million people, tune into PBS member stations over the course of a year. They&#8217;re sponsored by you, and they are producing Left-wing propaganda.
The hearings were led by subcommittee Chair Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who grilled NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS President Paula Kerger, suggesting that they were both presiding over publicly-funded news organizations that hate the Right-wing, which is absolutely 100% true. 
GOP Rep. James Comer (R-KY) <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/house/5215749-public-broadcasters-bias-allegations/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>, “People who listen to NPR are totally misinformed. I have a problem with that, because you get federal funding.” That, of course, is completely true.
NPR had no excuse for this and was unable to explain why they&#8217;re so biased to the Left. They couldn&#8217;t explain why they should receive taxpayer dollars if, in fact, they are only a propaganda outlet for the Democratic Party, which is also completely true.
Katherine Maher was asked about her editorial board, which involves 87 people. The number of Republicans on that editorial board? Zero. Zero.
Rep. William Timmons (R-S.C.) <a href="https://x.com/RepTimmons/status/1904927825682907428" target="_blank" rel="noopener">asked</a> Maher, “How does that work to give us the perception that you&#8217;re doing your job of actually delivering unbiased information?”
“Well, I would agree with you that that number is a concern if it is accurate,” Maher replied. “I do believe that we need to have journalists who represent the full breadth of American society so that we can report well for all Americans.”
The problem is, she doesn&#8217;t believe that. If she truly believed that, she would have done something about it. 87 to 0 is not exactly an even-handed examination of the news.
If you want to be an opinion journalism outlet like we are here at The Daily Wire and admit your biases openly, do it. We also receive zero taxpayer dollars.
We are not living off your taxpayer dollars. We have advertisers, subscribers, and members, but that is not the case at NPR, who does receive taxpayer dollars, which is why Maher was on the Hill being grilled.
She wound up being humiliated by Representative Brandon Gill (R-TX) in an amazing exchange.
Gill <a href="https://x.com/ltthompso/status/1904936069138706910" target="_blank" rel="noopener">grilled</a> her about her own political beliefs and openly lying about them on the floor of Congress.
<blockquote>Gill: Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy?
Maher: I believe that I tweeted that and as I’ve said earlier I believe much of my thinking has evolved over the last half-decade.
Gill: It has evolved. Why did you tweet that?
Maher: I don’t recall the exact context, sir, so I wouldn’t be able to say.
Gill: Ok. Do you believe that America believes in black plunder and white democracy?
Maher: I don’t believe that, sir.
Gill: You tweeted that in reference to a book you were reading at the time, apparently, “The Case For Reparations.”
Maher: I don’t think I’ve ever read that book, sir.
Gill: You tweeted about it. You said you took a day off to fully read “The Case For Reparations.” You put that on Twitter in January of 2020.
Maher: Apologies. I don’t recall that I did. I have no doubt that your tweet there is correct, but I don’t recall.
Gill: Do you believe that white people inherently feel superior to other races?
Maher: I do not.
Gill: You don’t? You tweeted something to that effect. You said, “I grew up feeling superior. Ha, how white of me.” Why did you tweet that?
Maher: I think I was probably reflecting on what it was to be to grow up in an environment where I had lots of advantages.
Gill: It sounds like you’re saying that white people feel superior.
Maher: I don’t believe that anybody feels that way, sir. I was just reflecting on my own experiences.
Gill: You think that white people should pay reparations?
Maher: I have never said that, sir.
Gill: Yes, you did. You said it in January 2020. You tweeted, “Yes, the north. Yes, all of us. Yes, America. Yes, our original collective sin and unpaid debt. Yes, reparations. Yes, on this day.”
Maher: I don’t believe that was a reference to fiscal reparations, sir.
Gill: What kind of reparations was it a reference to?
Maher: I think it was just a reference to the idea that we all owe much to the people who came before us.
Gill: That’s a bizarre way to frame what you tweeted. Ok, how much reparations have you personally paid?
Maher: Sir, I don’t believe that I’ve ever paid reparations.
Gill: Ok, just for everybody else.</blockquote>
Representative Tim Burchett (R-TN) also <a href="https://x.com/realchrisrufo/status/1904935282358751593" target="_blank" rel="noopener">went after</a> Maher: “Let me ask you, why did you call President Trump a fascist and a deranged racist sociopath in 2020?”
Maher responded, “Congressman, I appreciate the opportunity to address this,” she answered. “I regret those tweets. I would not tweet them again today. They represented a time where I was reflecting on something that I believe that the president had said rather than who he is. I don&#8217;t presume that anyone is a racist.” “You don&#8217;t believe anyone is a racist?” Burchett questioned. Maher clarified, “I don&#8217;t start by presuming anyone is a racist.”
That&#8217;s weird because she has made statements along those lines. This is entirely the game that NPR has been playing for actual decades. They say something that is overtly to the Left, and then when called on it, they say, “Well, I didn&#8217;t mean that,” or “You&#8217;re just missing the context.”
Why is it that every single error NPR has ever made is in one direction, including NPR&#8217;s decision not to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story in the run up to the 2020 election? NPR overtly said they would not cover that story because they did not think it was of importance.
That was insane since there was a ton of information on there that was of high importance to American voters.
Meanwhile, PBS CEO Paula Kerger <a href="https://grabien.com/story?id=520210" target="_blank" rel="noopener">claimed</a>, “There is nothing more American than PBS. … Our job at PBS is to support our stations so that local stations can serve their communities. We&#8217;ve been proudly fulfilling our mission for nearly 60 years, using the public airwaves and other technologies to help educate, engage, and inspire the American people.”
What they have also done is promote an enormous amount of Left-wing propaganda over the years.
This confrontation with PBS and NPR is a win for President Trump because all of this is now being exposed to daylight.
The fact that we are talking about getting rid of exorbitant spending in these areas is exceptionally important.

US-POLITICS-MEDIA-CONGRESS

NPR CEO Implodes

Ben Shapiro

Democrats

katherine Maher

Leftists

Opinion

U.S. House of Representatives

This Insane Hearing Is Evidence That State Media Should Be Immediately Eliminated

Federal Government

Matt Walsh

Congressional allies of DOGE grilled the leaders of NPR and PBS, arguing that federal taxpayers are being forced to fund politically biased coverage. The Senate introduced a resolution condemning the spate of attacks on Tesla as domestic terrorism. And prominent conservatives are being targeted in swatting hoaxes.
It’s Thursday, March 27, and this is the news you need to know to start your day. If you’d rather listen to your news, today’s edition of the Morning Wire podcast can be heard below:
<iframe style="width: 100%; max-width: 660px; overflow: hidden; border-radius: 10px;" src="https://embed.podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/lawmakers-probe-signal-gate-conservatives-swatted-3-27-25/id1576594336?i=1000701035481" height="175" frameborder="0" sandbox="allow-forms allow-popups allow-same-origin allow-scripts allow-storage-access-by-user-activation allow-top-navigation-by-user-activation"></iframe>
<h2>Grilling on Capitol Hill</h2>
<div id="attachment_898535" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898535" class="wp-image-898535 size-large" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/NPR-and-PBS-864x576.jpg" alt="" width="864" height="576" />(Photo by Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Congress continued its investigation of “Signal Gate” on Monday while the House Oversight Committee grilled NPR and PBS leaders on bias at the taxpayer-funded outlets.
The purpose of the &#8220;Anti-American Airwaves” <a href="https://oversight.house.gov/hearing/anti-american-airwaves-holding-the-heads-of-npr-and-pbs-accountable/">hearing</a> was to determine if NPR and PBS should continue to receive federal funding. The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a government-funded company that <a href="https://cpb.org/pressroom/CPB-Statement-Congress-Approval-Continued-Funding-Public-Media">received</a> $535 million in taxpayer dollars this year, with millions of dollars going directly to NPR and PBS. 
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA), who organized the hearing, slammed PBS and NPR as &#8220;radical left-wing echo chambers&#8221; that publish biased news reports with government subsidies and LGBTQ programming intent on “grooming children.” NPR CEO Katherine Maher admitted under questioning that it was &#8220;concerning&#8221; there were no Republicans on NPR’s editorial board – all 87 are Democrats. Maher said that NPR was “mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.” But perhaps the most revealing moment came when Texas Republican Congressman Brandon Gill grilled her about her past tweets:
<blockquote>GILL: Do you believe that America believes in black plunder and white democracy?
MAHER: I don’t believe that sir.
GILL: You tweeted that in reference to a book you were reading at the time apparently, The Case for Reparations.
MAHER: I don’t think I’ve ever read that book, sir.
GILL: You tweeted about it. You said you took a day off to fully read The Case For Reparations. You put that on twitter in January 2020… Do you believe that white people inherently feel superior to other races?
MAHER: I do not.
GILL: You don’t? You tweeted something to that effect. You said “I grew up feeling superior. Ha! How white of me. Why did you tweet that?</blockquote>
PBS CEO Paula Kerger defended her network from allegations of partisanship and bias, arguing that “there’s nothing more American than PBS&#8221; and describing it as a crucial source of accurate information and educational programming for millions of Americans. Several Republican members of the committee disputed that characterization.
“ There was an analysis done on PBS&#8217;s NewsHour from June to November of 2023,” Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX) said. “Where they found that far-right was used 162 times and far-left was only used six times. “
<h2>Senators Condemn Anti-Tesla Terrorism</h2>
<div id="attachment_884341" style="width: 874px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-884341" class="size-large wp-image-884341" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-864x576.jpg" alt="WASHINGTON, DC - SEPTEMBER 13: U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-WV) questions Peiter “Mudge” Zatko, former head of security at Twitter, during a Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing on data security at Twitter, on Capitol Hill, September 13, 2022 in Washington, DC. Zatko claims that Twitter's widespread security failures pose a security risk to user's privacy and information and could potentially endanger national security." width="864" height="576" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-864x576.jpg 864w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-300x200.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824-768x512.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/02/GettyImages-1423403824.jpg 1024w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 864px) 100vw, 864px" />(Photo by Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Should the attacks on Tesla cars and showrooms be condemned as “domestic terrorism”? A Senator introduces a resolution on the violence.
Amid a wave of vandalism targeting Tesla and DOGE, Republicans in the Senate are bringing a resolution to condemn what they say is an orchestrated “domestic terrorism” campaign empowered by leftist groups. 
Morning Wire spoke with Senator Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) about the attacks.
“It is stunning that we are seeing this take place, and that Democratic leadership is not standing up and calling out these acts of domestic terrorism.” Sen. Blackburn told Morning Wire. &#8220;We have lived through four years, where every time you turned around, they were talking about domestic terrorism, they were calling parents that went to school board meetings domestic terrorists. They were calling individuals that would stand across the street from a Planned Parenthood and pray for the women and the unborn children, and they would call that ‘domestic terrorism.’&#8221; 
“And now we are going through this, where they&#8217;re actually firebombing and shooting up Tesla dealerships. They are destroying the cars of Tesla owners. They are stopping people in the middle of the streets that are driving a Tesla, and are condemning them for owning those vehicles and nothing is being said. So we think it&#8217;s appropriate that we have the resolution, and we give them the opportunity – members of the U.S. Senate from each party and the couple of independents that we have – give them the opportunity to stand up and say we condemn these attacks.”
The resolution is expected to reach the floor of the Senate on Thursday.
<h2>Swatting Surge</h2>
<div id="attachment_898533" style="width: 1034px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-898533" class="size-large wp-image-898533" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1024x512.jpg" alt="" width="1024" height="512" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1024x512.jpg 1024w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-300x150.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-768x384.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-1536x768.jpg 1536w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2025/03/SWATTING-2048x1024.jpg 2048w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" />(Photo by Chris Clor via Getty Images)</div>
Topline: Prominent conservatives are being “swatted” – a dangerous hoax where someone falsely reports a serious crime to law enforcement and causes them to show up at a person’s house fully armed.
Swatting has been employed as a vindictive tactic for decades and has sometimes resulted in serious injury or even death, but recently, the number of swatting cases has jumped to alarming levels. <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2025/03/20/media/trump-musk-conservative-influencers-swatting/index.html">CNN</a> reported that at least a dozen Trump-supporting influencers have been swatted in the last two weeks. 
The targets have been an eclectic group: private citizens like social media star Gunther Eagleman, radio show host Joe Pagliarulo, and Infowars&#8217; Chase Geiser, as well as elected politicians like Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) and Senator Tommy Tuberville (R-AL). Matt Van Swol – a former liberal who gained a following in the past six months advocating for Hurricane Helene relief in North Carolina – was also victimized.
“Around 2:00 AM on Sunday night, we heard a loud bang on the door,” Van Swol told The Daily Wire. “We had a really big storm that night. We thought, you know, maybe someone was doing a wellness check. The power was going in and out all night. My wife ran to the door, I was getting my clothes on, and she saw a police officer with his gun drawn at the door. This could have ended horribly … it turns out that the police had gotten a phone call from someone pretending to be me saying that there had been a shooting at the house. That Erin had been shot and killed, that um, I had been shot in the leg and that there were three masked men hiding in the basement.”
Van Swol’s 3 children were at home during the incident – thankfully, no one was harmed. As of now, there have been no arrests associated with the recent swattings, but Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem and FBI Director Kash Patel have both said they were looking into the attacks. Senator Mike Lee (R-UT) also <a href="https://x.com/BasedMikeLee/status/1900368280335847854">suggested</a> that those responsible should be charged with attempted murder.

View of Capitol Building

Morning Brief: Congress Grills PBS & NPR, Senators Condemn Anti-Tesla Terror Attacks, Swatting Surges

Morning Wire

Republicans

Swatting

Tesla

Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin left an NPR reporter speechless Tuesday after the journalist attempted to criticize former president Donald Trump at an event focused on raising awareness of fentanyl overdoses.
First Lady Suzanne Youngkin said at the <a href="https://www.facebook.com/watch/live/?mibextid=KsPBc6&amp;ref=watch_permalink&amp;v=525326550011269&amp;rdid=dKIiV4hHAW07QYz7" target="_blank" rel="noopener">&#8220;It Only Takes One&#8221;</a> event that her husband&#8217;s administration had &#8220;all hands on deck&#8221; for a nonpartisan community outreach program aimed at helping &#8220;the most vulnerable&#8221; overcome addiction. Youngkin echoed his wife&#8217;s point, telling the crowd that &#8220;it&#8217;s time to move mountains&#8221; to fight addiction, because &#8220;fentanyl kills.&#8221;
After the event, Brad Kutner, a reporter for NPR affiliate WVTF, attempted to make the conversation about Trump, claiming that the &#8220;peak in fentanyl overdoses occurred during the Trump administration when the borders supposedly were closed.&#8221;
&#8220;Where does the intersection of closing the border and an increase in fentanyl deaths come into play here?” Kutner asked the governor.
&#8220;Here we go,&#8221; Youngkin said, before laying into the reporter.
“You and I will have nice conversations until I see you trying to play politics on an issue that is really disturbing to me,&#8221; Youngkin said.
&#8220;Their children lost their lives, they lost it due to fentanyl, they lost it because it was poisoned,&#8221; the normally mild-mannered governor barked. &#8220;And it is coming across our border. We all know this. Do not try to undermine this article by playing politics.&#8221;
Data from the National Institutes of Health found that the rate of increase in fentanyl overdoses slowed between 2017 and 2019, while Trump was in office. Overdoses picked up again in 2020 amid government-mandated COVID lockdowns.
<div class="image"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" class="alignnone size-full wp-image-787583" src="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/08/fig2-2024.jpg" alt="" width="1801" height="1351" srcset="https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/08/fig2-2024.jpg 1801w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/08/fig2-2024-300x225.jpg 300w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/08/fig2-2024-768x576.jpg 768w, https://dw-wp-production.imgix.net/2024/08/fig2-2024-1536x1152.jpg 1536w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 1801px) 100vw, 1801px" /></div>
Kutner claimed in response that the Virginia Department of Health found overdoses had <a href="https://www.vdh.virginia.gov/drug-overdose-data/overdose-deaths/">declined</a> each year since 2021, under President Joe Biden was in the White House. But data from the National Institutes of Health shows that nationwide, fentanyl overdoses continued to <a href="https://nida.nih.gov/research-topics/trends-statistics/overdose-death-rates#Fig2">rise in 2021 and 2022</a>, the latest year available. Virginia was an exception.
“Do you know how long I&#8217;ve been working on this? When did I become governor?” said Youngkin, who was elected in 2021.
As Kutner struggled to understand a chart, Youngkin queried, “Are you a mathematician?”
“Are you?” the reporter countered.
“Yes, is the short answer,” replied Youngkin, who has degrees in mechanical engineering and business administration.
Read the full exchange between Youngkin and Kunter here:
<blockquote>REPORTER: Peak in fentanyl overdoses occurred during the Trump administration when the borders supposedly were closed. Where does the intersection of closing the border and an increase in fentanyl deaths come into play here?
YOUNGKIN: I&#8217;m not sure you&#8217;re right.
REPORTER: Even in our state, the peak was in 2021. It was rising from 18 up to 2021.
YOUNGKIN: Sorry, who was president in 2021? So don&#8217;t premise a question with a false narrative. We know where this is coming from. It&#8217;s coming across an open border. The Biden administration opened the border and allowed this to happen. And anytime you want to take a deep dive on drug seizures coming across the border go talk to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
REPORTER: Were they seizing less during the Trump administration and thats what was leading to the increase in deaths?
YOUNGKIN: The increase in deaths has happened during the Biden administration.
REPORTER: No, the increase started during the Trump administration. In Virginia they started to go up in 2018.
YOUNGKIN: You premised the question incorrectly. Here we go. What we do know is there has been a systematic effort to bring fentanyl into this country, and at the end of the day it has absolutely rocketed while this border has been opened. And every Virginia parent here will talk to you about what happened to their child. Don&#8217;t try to undermine&#8211;
REPORTER: I&#8217;m not undermining! VDH numbers&#8211;
YOUNGKIN: You and I will have nice conversations until I see you trying to play politics on an issue that is really disturbing to me. Their children lost their lives, they lost it due to fentanyl, they lost it because it was poisoned. And it is coming across our border. We all know this. Do not try to undermine this article by playing politics.
REPORTER: These are your VDH numbers.
YOUNGKIN: Don&#8217;t even try it. 2021 is the peak. Don&#8217;t even suggest&#8211;
REPORTER: There&#8217;s an increase there&#8211;
YOUNGKIN: Are you a mathematician?
REPORTER: Are you?
YOUNGKIN: Yes, is the short answer. 2020, 2021, peaks in 2021. Fentanyl starting coming across the border at an extraordinary rate. It comes from China through California, gets flown into Virginia, trucked up our highways and we seize it every day.
REPORTER: So the decrease that we&#8217;re showing in 22 and then 23, there&#8217;s no part&#8211;am I missing something?
YOUNGKIN: These are overdoses. Do you know how long I&#8217;ve been working on this? When did I become governor? If you want to have an in-depth statistical discussion and decide who is responsible for overdose deaths in Virginia, I&#8217;m happy to go get our secretary of public safety out here and he will take you on a deep dive. But at the end of the day we understand where the fentanyl comes from, we understand that it comes from China into Mexico it comes across our border. It either goes to California and is flown into Richmond, or it comes up our highway system&#8230; We interdict a lot of it. The fact that the federal government has not closed our border and continues to allow fentanyl to come across this border is a travesty, and anybody who tries to suggest differently is trying to make a political excuse for a failed administration in Washington.</blockquote>

Glenn Youngkin Campaigns Ahead Of Next Week’s Gubernatorial Election

Youngkin Slams Reporter For Politicizing Fentanyl Awareness Event

Glenn Youngkin

Virginia

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