WH Budget Chief Mulvaney: We Can No Longer Ask Public to Pay For PBS, NPR

The White House's budget director gave his explanation Thursday for President Donald Trump's budget erasing funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

During an appearance on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Mick Mulvaney — director of the Office of Management and Budget — said Americans' tax dollars should not go toward paying for PBS, NPR, and other facets of CPB.

"When you start looking at the places that will reduce spending, one of the questions we asked was, 'Can we really continue to ask a coal miner in West Virginia or a single mom in Detroit to pay for these programs?' And the answer was no," Mulvaney said.

"We can ask them to pay for defense, and we will, but we can't ask them to continue to pay for the Corporation of Public Broadcasting."

Under President Donald Trump's budget that was unveiled Thursday, funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting would be phased out over a two-year period. That includes PBS, which broadcasts children's shows, news programs, and more.

The CPB fired back at the budget proposal.

"The elimination of federal funding to CPB would initially devastate and ultimately destroy public media's role in early childhood education, public safety, connecting citizens to our history, and promoting civil discussions — for Americans in both rural and urban communities," said Patricia Harrison, president and CEO of CPB.

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