Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) of the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) has launched a critique of National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), accusing them of producing partisan news coverage with taxpayer funding.
On Monday, Greene extended invitations to the CEOs of both organizations, urging them to testify before Congress about what she describes as systemic bias and their inability to serve the diverse viewpoints of the American public. Greene is requesting that NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS leadership appear before the subcommittee during the weeks of March 3 or March 24 to address concerns over the perceived left-leaning nature of their federally funded programming and the lack of balanced reporting.
In a letter to Maher, Greene pointed out NPR’s choice to overlook the Hunter Biden laptop story during the critical weeks leading up to the 2020 election. At the time, NPR dismissed the bombshell report, stating, “[w]e don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories, and we don’t want to waste the listeners’ and readers’ time on stories that are just pure distractions.”
“The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (Subcommittee) is planning a hearing on federally funded radio and television, including its systemically biased content. The Subcommittee is concerned by National Public Radio’s (NPR) blatantly ideological and partisan coverage and looks forward to your participation in our upcoming hearing,” wrote Greene in her letter to NPR.
“The Subcommittee seeks to better understand NPR’s position on providing Americans with accurate information,” she continued. “This hearing is an opportunity for you to explain to Congress and the American people why federal funds should be used for public radio—particularly the sort of content produced by NPR.” The latest inquiry arises from growing evidence of bias at NPR. In April 2024, veteran NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner exposed the organization’s increasing ideological slant.
In an op-ed, Berliner criticized NPR for primarily catering to a left-leaning audience, describing its coverage as an “assembly line” of stories focused on issues like racial grievances, climate alarmism, and the vilification of Republicans. “This sort of bias betrays the principles of objective reporting and undermines public trust. As an organization that receives federal funds channeled through its member stations, PBS should provide reporting that serves the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups,” wrote Greene.