All four Republicans representing districts that are in Franklin County or directly border it voted in favor of cutting $1.1 billion for public media while central Ohio's lone Democrat, U.S. Rep. Joyce Beatty, missed the very narrow vote Thursday.
Beatty's office explained in a statement why she missed the 214-212 vote that aims to cut funding to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that funds NPR, PBS and local public media like WOSU. Beatty's spokesperson said she was unable to vote due to a medical procedure that couldn’t be delayed, but she looks forward to continuing the fight for her constituents as soon as her recovery allows.
"Congresswoman Beatty is strongly opposed to this attack on public media," the statement said. "She believes this push to cut funding is yet another attempt to distract from the Trump administration’s effort to take health care from 16 million Americans and make the largest cuts to food assistance in our nation’s history. As a member of the Congressional Broadcasters Caucus, she’s long supported the important role public media plays in educating, informing, and connecting communities."
The spokesperson said Beatty supported funding approved in January for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and continues to advocate for these vital services.
The bill reflects a list of cuts totaling $9.4 billion that were requested by the Office of Management and Budget. The bulk of the cuts — $8.3 billion — are to foreign aid programs addressing global public health, international disaster assistance and hunger relief.
Ohio Republican Reps. Mike Carey, Jim Jordan, Troy Balderson and Dave Taylor also voted for the bill. Each represents a district that either borders Franklin County, or like Carey's district, cuts into Franklin County and extends to more rural parts of the state.
Carey's office declined to comment.
Three other Democrats, Reps. Emily Randall of Washington, Donald Norcross of New Jersey and Jose Luis Correa of California, missed the vote, while two Republicans, Reps. Brad Finstad of Minnesota and Laurel Lee of Florida, also missed the vote.
CNN reported House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries said ahead of the White House transmitting the funding cuts package that it was his “full expectation that, as has been the case up until this point, they will confront strong and unified Democratic opposition in the House, struggle to get any bill out of the House of Representatives, and then it’s dead in the United States Senate.”
NPR reported two Republicans, Reps. Mark Amodei of Nevada and Nicole Malliotakis of New York, switched their votes after initially voting against the funding cuts.
The bill now heads to the U.S. Senate, where a narrowly divided chamber has 45 days to make a decision on rescinding the funding.
Ohio's two Republicans U.S. Senators, Bernie Moreno and Jon Husted, have not responded to requests for comment on President Donald Trump's attempts to cut funding from public media.
Balderson and Taylor also have not responded.
Republicans attacked the programs they targeted for cuts in speeches on Thursday before the vote. "Don't spend money on stupid things and don't subsidize biased media," Ohio GOP Rep. Jim Jordan said.
The rest of Ohio's delegation voted along party lines except for Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Turner of Dayton who voted against the funding cuts.
WOSU Public Media General Manager Anthony Padgett said in a statement in May that funding cuts could present a serious challenge to WOSU's mission to serve the central Ohio community.
"Eliminating this funding for PBS and NPR could devastate the local-national partnerships that enable WOSU to bring trusted journalism, children’s programming and educational resources to our community," Padgett said.
Thirteen percent of WOSU's funding in 2024 came from federal grants.
"We know that for many, WOSU is more than just a media source — we are your public media, an essential, trusted presence you rely on and value deeply. WOSU is committed to telling local stories, amplifying community voices, and providing fact-based news coverage to empower our citizenship," Padgett said.
