A Dead End For Sesame Street? DOGE Cuts are a Bridge Too Far

After slashing funds and dismantling departments, the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, has found its next target — fictional, 3.5-year-old Elmo.

Since ending its deal with HBO in December, the long-running children’s TV series “Sesame Street” has been on an indefinite hiatus.

While past episodes will continue to air on PBS KIDS and Max through 2027, independently producing new episodes is a costly challenge for the non-profit Sesame Workshop, limiting the show’s hallmark accessibility.

The Trump administration’s efforts to defund the Corporation of Public Broadcasting further threaten the iconic show and jeopardize children’s entertainment.

Established in 1967 by President Lyndon B. Johnson, the CPB was meant to ensure the availability of high-quality, non-commercial programming serving the public interest. Over the years, the CPB has played a crucial role in financially supporting educational and informative programming.

During a DOGE subcommittee hearing March 26, Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene pushed to defund PBS and NPR, alleging their programming serves as “communist propaganda,” according to The Guardian. 

Republicans have long sought to defund the CPB over concerns of liberal bias in public media outlets. DOGE’s latest efforts are framed as fiscal conservatism, promising to reduce government spending and shift funding to private sources.

In response, representatives of PBS and NPR argued their networks provide essential services, including diverse programming serving a wide range of viewers across political and socioeconomic backgrounds, according to NPR.

And although DOGE hasn’t explicitly acknowledged the consequence, all public stations — including Sesame Station — would lose the crucial funding they depend on. A public station is a non-commercial, educational radio or television station licensed by the U.S. government.

While NPR receives 1% of its budget from the CPB, PBS relies on 15%, according to The New York Times. These stations receive most funds through viewers, listeners and independent donors, according to the CPB.

Without CPB funding, local affiliates will struggle to operate, limiting access to educational programing and public service journalism for millions of Americans — namely children who rely on educational content.

Unlike cable networks that require costly subscriptions, PBS ensures children in low-income communities have the same educational TV programming as those from more affluent families.

Shows like “Sesame Street” were specifically designed to bridge gaps in education for disadvantaged children, according to Sesame Workshop, and they play an indispensable role in education equality.

Defunding the CPB aligns with the Trump administration’s broader efforts to dismantle the Department of Education by limiting access to educational resources, especially for low-income families. Whether intentional or not, this move disproportionally affects families who rely on publicly funded media, reinforcing systemic barriers to upward mobility, according to ABC News.

As the conversation shifts away from the needs of vulnerable communities, beloved programs like “Sesame Street” could become casualties of an ideological battle, leaving behind the children it was meant to protect.