MPR leader addresses executive order seeking to end funding to NPR and PBS

President Donald Trump has been talking about plans to end federal funding for public media. And now he has signed an executive order calling for a halt in funding for NPR and PBS through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and eliminated CPB funding budget plans released today.

MPR President Duchesne Drew responded to the latest moves by the administration and what it could mean for the Minnesota’s public radio stations.

To hear more of the interview, use the audio player above or read the transcript below, which has been lightly edited for clarity.

First, does this action from the President today have any immediate impact on MPR?

We, like other news and media organizations across the system that receive money from CPB, are still trying to wrap our arms and mind around it. Certainly, at a minimum, we’re probably going to be cautious about any dollars we send to NPR that might be perceived as having come from the federal government.

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And I should say that CPB is challenging the President’s authority to direct their funding decisions because they‘re not part of the executive branch. They were created by Congress. They get funded by Congress and they’re not a federal agency, but a nonprofit agency set up specifically to guide this work.

Appeals here or lawsuits are bound to be pending from NPR and PBS?

Yes, it seems like that's some of the things they would consider doing. Yeah, it’s on the list, I imagine.

Who would bring them here? Would it be NPR and PBS? Or could MPR join a suit like this?

I think we have to figure out what makes the most sense. You know, we’ve certainly had time to ponder what might happen here. As you noted, there’s both this executive order today as well as an intention to defund the entire CPB system, right?

So, I think there’s a lot of thought we have to put into how we respond.

What percentage of MPR’s budget is tied to CPB funding and how far in advance is that funded?

We get about 5 percent of our annual budget from the CPB and usually it comes two years in advance so that you can plan. Congress passed a continuing resolution some weeks back that funded both fiscal year 2026, which begins Oct. 1, and FY27 was also approved back then.

So, the President’s budget he’s releasing is for FY26 begins Oct. 1?

Exactly.

And that budget has zero for CPB in it?

It has zero, but in the end Congress actually does decide how it’s going to allocate money. So they have a choice to make.

I want our listeners to know that the CPB funding equates to $1.60 a year per American, which is less than one one-hundredth of 1 percent of the federal budget. It’s a small amount of money, but it goes really far in helping to connect this nation in really vital ways.

In our market, people know it’s news, it’s information, it’s the emergency alert system, amber alerts — those kinds of things. This is not “nice to have” kinds of information or alerts.

And in an age that is so, so divisive, I look at the work that we do here at Minnesota Public Radio and take great pride in the fact that we are a connector. We help Minnesota better see itself and better value itself.

This move would undermine our ability to do so.

Editor's note (May 5, 2025): MPR News pays NPR for content, and MPR receives money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. When reporting on the business of MPR, we do so independently from news executives and do not let them review material before it runs.