Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funded queer-inclusive shows, is shutting down

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) shared the news today that it would be slowly shutting down following the Trump administration's defunding of public media. The corporation was responsible for providing funding to NPR and PBS, which were known to fund LGBTQ+ projects such as Intersex Justice, Mother Witt, and Queering the Map.

Earlier this month, Congress approved the "Big, Beautiful Bill" that slashed funding for CPB by $1.1 billion over the next two years. The Senate Appropriations Committee’s fiscal 2026 Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies (Labor-H) appropriations bill entirely excluded funding for public media for the first time in over 50 years.

Patricia Harrison, CPB president and CEO, wrote a statement provided to Variety that said, "Despite the extraordinary efforts of millions of Americans who called, wrote, and petitioned Congress to preserve federal funding for CPB, we now face the difficult reality of closing our operations." She continued, “CPB remains committed to fulfilling its fiduciary responsibilities and supporting our partners through this transition with transparency and care.”

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting shared the news with its staff earlier today and said they would be able to keep their jobs until the end of the fiscal year, Sept. 30, and then a "small transition team" will help close out operations.

President Trump celebrated the office's closures with a post on Truth Social that reads, "ATROCIOUS NPR AND PUBLIC BROADCASTING, WHERE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS A YEAR WERE WASTED. REPUBLICANS HAVE TRIED DOING THIS FOR 40 YEARS, AND FAILED….BUT NO MORE. THIS IS BIG!!!”

CPB opened its doors in 1967 and was established by Congress as a private, not-for-profit corporation to "ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services."