Academics and public radio professionals warn that budget cuts could decimate a watchdog for political corruption.

For example, liberal pundit Robert Reich claimed Trump was trying to “fire Elmo” and compared this action to slaveowners and the Nazis. (In reality, only 4% of Sesame Street’s funding came from the government, and it just signed a deal with cash-flush Netflix.)

During the early hours of Friday, the U.S. House of Representatives definitively approved President Donald Trump’s request to cut $9 billion from both PBS, which airs the popular show Sesame Street and other programs,

House Republicans face a midnight Friday deadline to pass a Trump-backed bill cutting $9 billion from public broadcasting and foreign aid programs.

With a late-night vote in Congress to cut PBS and NPR funding, Mitt Romney‘s vision has come to pass. During a 2012 presidential debate, the GOP nominee famously pledged to “stop the subsidy to PBS” even though he liked Sesame Street character Big Bird.

Trump took a victory lap after Congress formally passed his measure to claw back previously approved funding, including $1.1 billion for PBS and NPR.

House Republicans passed Trump's $9 billion rescissions package cutting $1 billion from public broadcasting, prompting reactions from public outlet journalists and Democrats.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren slammed a Republican-backed plan to slash funding for public broadcasting, warning it's part of Donald Trump's broader agenda to gut essential public services like education, housing,

Elizabeth Warren warns that Donald Trump is targeting vital public media funds, including for Sesame Street, NPR, and local stations. If successful, she says this could set a dangerous precedent for cutting funding across critical community services like education,