Marjorie Taylor Greene Threatens Funds For ‘Communist’ NPR And PBS At Hearing
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) accused the executives of NPR and PBS of pushing “some of the most radical left positions,” and “brainwashing and trans-ing children” while using federal funds to pursue “their progressive, or Communist, agenda” during a Wednesday hearing on Capitol Hill.
“NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical leftwing echo chambers,” she said, going on to suggest the federal funds granted to both outlets be cut back.
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Greene serves as the chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, which was created this year to support billionaire Elon Musk’s so-called Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE. Her hearing comes at a time when President Donald Trump, a longtime critic of press freedoms, has ramped up his attacks.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger listened with neutral expressions throughout.
At the hearing, Greene and her Republican colleagues argued that the radio network and public broadcaster were no longer relevant due to the popularity of podcasts and YouTube. Rep. Robert Garcia (D-Calif.) pushed back, saying that platforms like YouTube were filled with ads that can be inappropriate for children, whereas PBS is not.
Garcia also used his 5-minute time allotment to have some fun.
“The American people want to know: Is Elmo now, or has he ever been, a member of the Communist Party of the United States?” he asked Kerger of the “Sesame Street” character. She said no.
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“Are you sure, Ms. Kerger? Because he is red,” Garcia replied.
He went on to grill the PBS executive on Bert and Ernie, two other puppets accused of being part of an “extreme homosexual agenda.”
“They’re friends. They’re supportive of each other. Now, that might be triggering to our chairwoman and some on this committee, [and] perhaps that’s also why we’re here today,” Garcia said.
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Garcia and other Democrats argued that Musk’s activities should be scrutinized, not those of public broadcasters.
Much of the funding for NPR and PBS comes from individual donors and corporate sponsors, but both receive additional funds from the federal government. The outlets were formed under the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a publicly funded nonprofit that receives an approximately $500 million appropriation from Congress each year.
Maher said specifically that NPR received around $11 million from the federal government last year, which was primarily spent to maintain the broadcast systems used by public radio stations nationwide.
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She fielded the most accusations of bias from Republicans on the panel. She said that she regretted posting fiery political tweets about conservatives in America before taking her job at NPR last year, and agreed when Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) suggested NPR’s editors should include more Republicans.
Kerger highlighted the broad public support for PBS, known primarily for its children’s programming.
“For over two decades, the American public has consistently ranked public television as one of the best investments the government makes,” she said in her opening statement.
At one point, Greene accused PBS of featuring a drag queen — a “monster,” as the congresswoman put it — in an educational video, but Kerger quickly corrected her. The video was never aired on PBS, but rather briefly uploaded by a New York member station by mistake. It was created in partnership with PBS for the New York City Department of Education.
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Other notable moments included Green’s mispronunciation of the national motto, “E Pluribus Unum;” Rep. James Comer’s (R-Ky.) incredulous reaction to the idea NPR would have “editorial standards” because he thought the term referred to political opinions; and Comer’s acknowledgment that HuffPost has the right to exist.
