Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene targets press as DOGE subcommittee chair

March 26, 2025 | U.S. representative leads heated subcommittee hearing attacking NPR, PBS

Feb. 3, 2025 | U.S. representative summons NPR, PBS to oversight hearing

Jan. 20, 2025 | U.S. representative threatens PBS funding

March 26, 2025 | U.S. representative leads heated subcommittee hearing attacking NPR, PBS

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene led a hearing titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS accountable” on March 26, 2025, at which she questioned the chief executives of the two news outlets.

“At the DOGE Subcommittee, we are continuing our war on waste. That means rooting out spending that is unnecessary, wasteful and — frankly — un-American,” Greene said during her opening remarks. “NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical, left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives who generally look down on and judge rural America.”

Greene went on to accuse NPR of having a “communist agenda” and PBS of being “one of the founders of the trans child abuse industry.”

NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger defended their organizations’ programming and the importance of public media during the more than two-hour-long hearing, rejecting the accusation that they pander to liberal audiences.

Rep. Stephen Lynch voiced his support for public media and castigated the hearing, saying, “For over two decades of service on this oversight committee, I’ve worked with members on both sides of the aisle to investigate issues of critical importance to the safety and security of the American people.

“So I’m sad to see that this once-proud committee — the principal investigative committee in the House of Representatives — has now stooped to the lowest levels of partisanship and political theater.”

In her closing statements, Greene announced that the subcommittee intends to call for the dissolution of the government-backed Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides around 1% of NPR’s budget and 16% of that of PBS.

“I think from what we have heard here today, the American people will not continue to allow such propaganda to be funded through the federal government with their hard-earned tax dollars,” Greene said. “We believe that you all can hate us on your own dime.”

Rep. Ronny Jackson plans to introduce a bill on March 27 to pull all government funding from NPR and PBS, Fox News reported. Jackson introduced a similar bill in 2023, but it didn’t make it out of committee.

According to CPB, the majority of the approximately $500 million it is appropriated each year is distributed to local broadcast and radio stations. Funding for the nonprofit corporation was extended on March 14, with the House and Senate approving $535 million for 2027.

“Public media in the United States is a highly efficient public-private partnership that delivers a strong return on the taxpayers’ investment,” CPB President and CEO Patricia Harrison said in a statement at the time. “With the support of Congress and the American people, CPB will continue to prioritize educational content and resources for families, provide essential local reporting and public safety information, and pursue technology advancements that enhance public media’s connection with audiences across multiple platforms.”

Feb. 3, 2025 | U.S. representative summons NPR, PBS to oversight hearing

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene sent letters to the CEOs of public broadcasters NPR and PBS on Feb. 3, 2025, summoning them to testify in March before the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency.

The letters both said that the subcommittee is concerned about the outlets’ “blatantly ideological and partisan coverage” and seeks to better understand their “position on providing Americans with accurate information.”

Greene specifically cited PBS reporting on Elon Musk making “what appeared to be a fascist salute” during the official post-inauguration celebration on Jan. 20, as well as NPR’s decision not to report on Hunter Biden’s laptop in 2020.

The news outlets’ reporting, Greene wrote, “should serve the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups.”

NPR said in a statement that it strives to hold itself to the highest standards of journalism, citing its publicly available standards and ethics guidelines, and the presence of a public editor.

“We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public,” the statement said.

PBS did not respond to a request for comment.

Jan. 20, 2025 | U.S. representative threatens PBS funding

Just hours after Donald Trump’s swearing-in on Jan. 20, 2025, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene took to social media to attack PBS News for reporting that Trump appointee Elon Musk gave “what appeared to be a fascist salute” while speaking at the official post-inauguration celebration in Washington, D.C.

“As the Chairwoman of the Oversight Subcommittee on DOGE (Department of Government Oversight), I look forward to PBS @NewsHour coming before my committee and explaining why lying and spreading propaganda to serve the Democrat party and attack Republicans is a good use of taxpayer funds,” Greene posted. “We will be in touch soon.”

Congress provides indirect grant support to PBS, as well as NPR, through funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, appropriating $535 million for 2025. Trump’s first administration proposed eliminating all federal funding for PBS, and Trump made similar calls on social media in the lead-up to the 2024 election.