Those entreaties appear to be falling on deaf ears within the Trump administration and the Republican majority in Congress. The day prior to the hearing, the president called both NPR and PBS biased, and indicated that he was open and eager to slash their funding.

But a Pew Research Center poll released on Monday showed that a larger share of Americans still support public media than oppose. 43% of all respondents said that PBS and NPR should continue to receive federal funding, while only 24% opposed and 33% were undecided.