Kennedy Just Gave NPR and PBS a Hard Lesson They Won’t Forget!

Sen. John Kennedy (R-LA) is taking aim at taxpayer-funded media, introducing a new bill designed to strip government dollars from NPR and PBS. The “No Propaganda Act” seeks to end public funding for these outlets, arguing that they push political agendas on the taxpayers’ dime.

Kennedy unveiled the legislation Monday, citing wasteful spending and misplaced priorities in Washington. The move follows significant budget cuts by the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), which has already slashed federal contracts, leases, and grants, saving an estimated $55 billion. The department, established to curb unnecessary expenditures, is set to dissolve by July 4, 2026.

“We’re spending half a billion dollars a year, 14 and a half billion dollars over time, to give to people at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and NPR and NPS [sic] to participate in opinion journalism, which they’re entitled to do, but they can’t do it on the taxpayer dime. They’re doing it on the taxpayer dime, but they shouldn’t be able to,” Kennedy said on the Senate floor.

The senator pointed to NPR’s extravagant spending, highlighting its Washington, D.C., headquarters, which cost over $200 million. He also noted the substantial salaries of its executives, including hosts earning as much as $532,000 annually and a chief diversity officer taking home approximately $320,000 a year. Despite receiving federal funding, NPR and PBS also solicit donations from listeners and viewers, though Kennedy suggested their audience is shrinking.

“And you know what? Despite all of this money that the American taxpayer are giving to these left-of-center entities, their viewership has declined. Because people don’t need them anymore,” Kennedy said. “They can go exist on their own if they want to, but I do want to defund them. We’re running $36 trillion in debt. This is disgraceful in 2025. It’s disgraceful whether it is left-of-center opinion journalism or right-of-center opinion journalism. It is disgraceful for the American people to have to fund this rot.”

Kennedy’s push to cut public media funding comes amid ongoing tensions between NPR and tech mogul Elon Musk. Last year, Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) labeled NPR as “state-affiliated media,” a designation usually reserved for government-controlled news organizations. The outlet responded by quitting the platform altogether, though it remains active on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and TikTok.

Meanwhile, DOGE continues to comb through federal spending, focusing on major agencies such as NASA, the Department of Education, and the Department of Homeland Security. The department is also scrutinizing expenses at the Pentagon and the Treasury Department, looking for more areas to cut waste.

Kennedy’s bill is likely to spark heated debate, with supporters praising the effort to rein in government waste and critics warning it could harm public access to independent news and educational programming. Whether the legislation gains traction in Congress remains to be seen, but one thing is clear—Kennedy is on a mission to stop taxpayer dollars from funding what he calls political propaganda.