A bill passed Thursday in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives...

A bill passed Thursday in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives cuts more than $9 milion from NPR, PBS and USAID. The legislation now goes before the Senate. Credit: AP/Charles Dharapak

Long Island Rep. Nick LaLota and another Republican colleague changed their votes Thursday, saving an endangered House bill that would slash more than $9 billion from PBS, NPR and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

The house narrowly voted to pass the bill, which aims at clawing back money previously allocated to USAID and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds NPR, PBS and thousands of public radio and television stations nationwide. The move crystallized Trump’s executive order to cut federal funding for NPR and PBS, and his efforts to dismantle USAID.

Republican Speaker Mike Johnson had been engaged in a lengthy conversation with LaLota on the House floor before Thursday's vote.

LaLota, along with fellow Republican House member Don Bacon of Nebraska, changed their votes to yes, propelling the final tally to 214-212.

LaLota, of Amityville, did not immediately respond to an inquiry about his decision.

Nearly every Republican voted in favor of the funding cuts, including Rep. Andrew Garbarino (R-Bayport). Four Republicans in the House voted against the bill and no Democrats voted in favor.

NPR is available on WLIW-FM and WSHU on Long Island, and WNYC in New York City. PBS television stations serving Long Island include WNET and WLIW/21.

NPR and three of its radio stations have sued the Trump administration over his executive order cutting funding to public broadcasting.

"Government funding of news media in this environment is not only outdated and unnecessary but corrosive to the appearance of journalistic independence," the Trump administration wrote in a statement at the time.

The bill will now advance to the Republican-controlled Senate, where it needs only a simple majority rather than the 60 votes usually required from the 100-member chamber. This rule falls under the so-called rescissions request, where presidential administrations can ask to cancel funding that has already been allocated.

A federal judge ruled in March that Trump’s dismantling of USAID violated the Constitution, blocking the Department of Government Efficiency from making additional cuts.

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