U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor blasts Trump order to defund PBS & NPR as ‘illegal’ and an ‘overreach’

Listen:

Yesterday, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to end federal funding for NPR and PBS. 

Congressmember Kathy Castor blasted the move as illegal in St. Petersburg on Friday.

“Parents and families really value public broadcasting. Elmo is not going to be pleased about this either. He’s not going to be giving out hugs on this one.”  Castor told WMNF.

The order directed the Center for Public Broadcasting to cancel funding for  NPR and PBS, with Trump claiming the stations are biased and inaccurate. 

However, the CPB is a private, nonprofit corporation, creating a situation Castor calls an overreach.   

“This is illegal. You hate to see the Corporation for Public Broadcasting have to take him to court, because that’s just a waste of money,” Castor said.

However, Castor says pushback from Congress may be dicey, and encouraged Americans to reach out to their representatives and demand change. 

“It’s more important than ever that our neighbors all across the Tampa Bay area, all across the state of Florida, are speaking out and pressing their representatives in Congress and speaking out. It’s only going to be through activism and democracy that we’re able to defend these authoritarian moves,” Castor said.

Castor represents a congressional district containing three public media stations receiving funding from the CPB, including WMNF.