Speaker Johnson Confirms He Wants To Cut Funding For These Two Taxpayer-Supported Organizations

Americans have long complained not only that they’re taxed too much, but that the money they fork over to the federal government often goes to fund projects that they don’t support.

For his part, House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) recently named two such programs that he hopes to be able to defund during the second Trump administration.

According to the The Hill:

Speaker Mike Johnson (R-La.) said on Wednesday he’d like to cut government spending for PBS and for Planned Parenthood, but he noted he might face some push back from Congress first.

“I would like to. That’s for sure,” Johnson said in an interview on Fox News’s “The Story with Martha MacCallum,” when asked whether he plans to axe the two organizations.

Host Martha MacCallum noted they could be prime targets for Republicans’ efforts to cut spending because both groups receive funds from the government.

“Yeah,” Johnson said, when MacCallum clarified whether he wants to cut spending to the organizations, adding, however, that, “We got to build consensus to have the votes to do that.”

Johnson suggested more immediate spending changes might come from the White House.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Now, some of this will be done by executive order out of the White House. He has a broad authority to do a lot of that,” Johnson said, referring to President-elect Trump. “But where Congress is involved, that’s where it takes the hard work of legislating and getting everybody on the same page.”

His proposal received significant support on social media:

Speaker Johnson just confirmed that they will be cutting all funding for PBS and Planned Parenthood

— Texas Patriot (@Texasbrn) December 4, 2024

Defund Planned Parenthood.
Defund ACLU.
Defund PBS too.

Taxpayers shouldn't be funding these extremist anti-American, pro-death, anti-freedom groups. Let the Democrats and their elitist wealthy donors fund these radical leftist organizations.

— Ermias (@ErmiasAlem) December 4, 2024

There’s nothing on PBS that’s not available and multiple other networks provided by private industry. Likewise, Planned Parenthood can be funded by donations. No one should be forced to donate to them through taxation.

— Tony (@1st_12151791) December 5, 2024

Good bye PBS and Planned Parenthood. You suck 🫏! https://t.co/yWWiZlDmJM

— Dast_Monk (@Dast_Monk) December 6, 2024

Vice President-elect JD Vance endorsed a similar proposal during the campaign, as NBC News reported at the time:

A journalist asked Vance, R-Ohio, whether a future Trump administration would defund Planned Parenthood, the reproductive health care group that has garnered opposition from many conservatives for its pro-abortion-rights positions.