A victory for Trump; a loss for local NPR stations, including Nebraska Public Media
Lincoln, NE — Nebraska Public Media will lose federal funding it says makes up 16% of its annual budget, as both of the station’s home-state U.S. senators voted overnight to cut $9 billion that the federal government had previously approved for international aid and public media.
The 51-48 mostly party-line vote seeks to revoke more than $8 billion from foreign aid programs run by the U.S. State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development. It also cuts $1.1 billion that Congress approved for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting for fiscal years 2026 and 2027, which funds the Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.
U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith (left), R-Neb., speaks during the annual summit put on by the Nebraska, Lincoln and Omaha Chambers of Commerce. To the right are Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., Mike Flood, R-Neb., and Deb Fischer, R-Neb. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
A carve-out deal negotiated by some senators will preserve funding for grants to help some Native American radio stations. And the package was changed to preserve full funding for the President’s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, or PEPFAR. Those tweaks will require a separate vote in the U.S. House, which narrowly passed the bill before and is likely to do so again.
Trump is on the cusp of following through on a long-sought GOP goal – stripping federal funding from NPR and PBS. The push is a continuation of his ongoing political battle with news organizations. During his second term, Trump has barred the Associated Press from entering some White House events and sued CBS News over its editing of an interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris.
U.S Sen Deb Fischer, R-Neb., voted for the rescissions package despite having expressed concerns about how the cuts might affect emergency alert systems in rural parts of the state. A Fischer spokesperson said the senator supported it in response to “unchecked federal spending under the Biden administration.”
“Senator Fischer recognizes the importance of public media in delivering information and educational programming to Nebraskans,” said Emma Hoffschneider, a Fischer spokesperson. “The American people delivered a mandate last November and sent their representatives to Washington to …tackle reckless spending.”
The package’s $9.4 billion cut is 0.1% of the roughly $7 trillion that the federal government is on track to spend this year, according to The Congressional Budget Office. The Trump administration has said it hopes Republicans approve similar cuts in the months and years ahead.
Hoffschneider said that while the package is just a small part of the federal budget, it’s a commonsense first step toward “restoring fiscal responsibility and respecting taxpayer dollars.”
U.S. Sen. Pete Ricketts, R-Neb., had no immediate comment but had indicated his support for the cuts during a Fox News Business Interview earlier this month, calling the rescission package a “great first step” to get government spending “under control.”
While federal funding accounts for only a fraction of the budget of national public news organizations, it does help smaller, often rural, local affiliate stations afford to operate in places the free market might not otherwise serve.
Nebraska Public Media, which is responsible for most public TV and radio stations in the state, has said it would lose about 16% of its annual budget. Two other public radio stations in the state’s biggest city and one in the Lincoln area also could lose funding. The state funds roughly 44% of the NPM budget, according to information published on the outlet’s website. Two stations in Omaha have said they will also lose funding.
Nebraska Public Media officials said it is still monitoring the proposal as it heads back to the House for a final vote.
“Federal investment is vital for the long-term health of local stations like Nebraska Public Media, and we hope that the House will choose to reject this package,” Nebraska Public Media told the Nebraska Examiner in a statement.
U.S. Rep. Don Bacon speaks about his decision to retire from Congress and not run again in 2026 at Omaha’s Eppley Airfield. June 30, 2025. (Aaron Sanderford/Nebraska Examiner)
Last time, all three Nebraska House Republicans voted for the package, Nebraska U.S. Rep. Don Bacon, R-Neb., and a handful of others flipped their votes. Bacon said he had received “reassurances” from House leadership that PBS would receive funding for next year, and Congress would discuss shifting to annual funding after that.
After the first House vote, U.S. Rep. Adrian Smith, who represents Nebraska’s largely rural 3rd District, called the package a “step toward fiscal responsibility.” Mike Flood, who represents eastern Nebraska’s 1st District, said it “codifies important spending cuts identified by the Trump administration.”
House and Senate Democrats have warned that the GOP push for the rescissions package could threaten any future negotiations on funding the federal government as a government shutdown approaches.
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