PBS blinds DEI Office Follow Trump's Order: NPR

PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger spoke at the 2017 TV Critics Association Press Tour in Pasadena, California at the executive meeting of PBS.

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PBS is closing its diversity equity and inclusion (DEI) following an executive order issued by Trump last month Cut DEI workplace plans.

“To best ensure we comply with the president's executive orders around diversity, equity and inclusion, we have closed the DEI office,” the Public Broadcasting Corporation said in a statement shared with NPR via email.

“Staff serving in this office will leave PBS. We will continue to adhere to our mission and values. PBS will continue to reflect the entire United States and remain a welcome place for everyone.”

The memo from PBS president and CEO Paula Kerger, who shared with NPR, said the DEI office was closed at the advice of PBS's legal committee, and DEI staff Gina Leow and Cecilia Loved left PBS.

During his first semester, Trump tried several times the axe that failed to succeed or drastically reduces funding to public broadcasters, a funder for PBS and NPR.

according to Public broadcasting website companiesmore than 70% of its annual federal grants are directly used in more than 1,500 local public media sites. CPB said in fiscal year 2023 that its funds account for about 10% of total public television revenue and 6% of average public radio revenue.

NPR also has a diverse office and dedicated DEI staff. It did not respond to a request for comment on whether the office is being considered for closure.

The Federal Communications Commission is currently investigating the coverage of PBS, NPR and its member stations as the Trump administration fears sponsored news could violate federal laws prohibiting broadcast advertising on non-commercial education stations.

Additionally, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, chair of the Subcommittee for Delivering Government Efficiency (DOGE), asked PBS CEO Paula Kerger and NPR CEO Katherine Maher to take a March hearing on the public media Funding and journalism habits.

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR correspondent Chloe Veltman and edited by cultural editor Jennifer Vanasco and executive editor Vickie Walton-James and Gerald Holmes. According to NPR's reporting agreement, no company officials or news executives reviewed the story before it was published publicly.