House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said Wednesday he wants to cut government spending on PBS and family planning programs, but said he could face pushback from Congress before doing so.
“I would like to, that's for sure,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News' “The Story with Martha McCallum” when asked if he intended to abolish both organizations.
Moderator Martha McCallum noted that both groups receive government funding and could be prime targets for Republican efforts to cut spending.
When Mr McCallum clarified whether he wanted to cut spending to groups, Mr Johnson said: “Yes,” adding: “We need to build a deal to get the votes to do that.”
Johnson suggested more immediate spending changes could come from the White House.
“Right now, some of this will be done by executive order from the White House. He has broad authority to do a lot of things,” Johnson said, referring to President-elect Trump. “But when Congress is involved, there is a lot of work to legislate and get everyone on the same page.”
“So there's going to be a lot of ideas,” Johnson continued. “We don't want to reveal too much right now, but this is part of our playbook preparation for publication and deployment in January.”
Mr. Johnson spent much of the interview touting what he called a “generational opportunity” to reorganize government to promote “limited government and individual freedom.”
“What we have, Martha thinks, is a generational opportunity to bring real change to the administrative state, the deep state. We want to carry the torch to the regulatory state. And what Elon and Vivek have in mind. “And I think that can help us in that regard,” Johnson said, along with billionaire Elon Musk and former presidential candidate whom Trump nominated to head the inaugural Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). He said this while referring to Vivek Ramaswamy.
The Congressional Delegates for Outstanding Government Efficiency (DOGE) aims to serve as a counterpart to the committee led by Musk and Ramaswamy. The group is led in the House by Reps. Aaron Bean (R-Fla.) and Pete Sessions (R-Texas) and in the Senate by Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa).
Mr. Musk and Mr. Ramaswamy are scheduled to speak about DOGE with Republicans on Capitol Hill on Thursday.
in response In response to the former Trump administration's proposal to eliminate federal funding for public media, PBS President and CEO Paula Karger issued a statement in 2020 announcing the station's efforts and It advertised its status as a top-ranked institution on the public trust scale of the time.
“PBS and its member stations have bipartisan support from Congress because of the important role public television plays in homes and communities across the country,” the 2020 statement said. “For 50 years, PBS has served as a trusted source of education and programming.” We offer thought-provoking programming, including lifelong learning through digital platforms. ”
Planned Parenthood is a regular target of Republicans because it provides abortion services.
