National Public Radio (PR) CEO Katherine Maher got grilled by MAGA hardliner Rep. Brandon Gill, who slammed her, using her past social media posts to highlight NPR’s obvious liberal slant. While the CEO downplayed her posts and admitted she would act differently, GOP congressmen pointed out that NPR’s D.C. editorial staff included 87 Democrats and zero Republicans as evidence of her bias.
For context, NPR receives funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), which allocates hundreds of millions annually to media outlets. At a contentious congressional hearing, part of the House DOGE subcommittee’s government efficiency efforts, legislators weighed defunding CPB, which would slash support to NPR.
This exact controversy was shown when Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX) slammed the woke CEO for her obvious political bias, citing her previous statements. During the March 26, 2025, hearing, he said, “It’s interesting because a lot of your thinking, as expressed by your public statements, is deeply infused with economic and cultural Marxism. Do you believe that America is addicted to white supremacy?”
Katherine Maher stammered back a response to Gill. She said, “I believe that I tweeted that, and as I’ve said earlier, I believe much of my thinking has evolved over the last half-decade. It has evolved…I don’t recall the exact context, sir, so I wouldn’t be able to say.”
Gill also picked out several of NPR’s most bizarre woke stories. He asked her, “Do you think that
a few, few years ago, NPR educated America about “the whole community of gender queer dinosaur enthusiasts,” do you think that that’s a inappropriate use of tax dollars?”
After the woke CEO stumbled through another response, Gill pivoted to another outrageous NPR story. Gill said, “Your Health Advisor at NPR also stated in an interview that, ‘fear of fatness is more harmful than actual fat.’ Would you like to explain how fear of fatness is more harmful than actual fat?”
Katherine Maher replied, admitting that her outlet did post such an article, but refused to take personal responsibility. She said, “That’s directly that’s an editorial at NPR. I am not familiar with the editorial, and I don’t believe that was published during my time here….It’s called ‘Diet Culture is Everywhere. Here’s how to fight it.'”
"*" indicates required fields
Gill was enraged by these woke non-answers and dismissed the woke CEO with a fiery rebuke. He concluded, “This is garbage. I’ll spend all of my time doing everything I can to ensure you guys never get another dollar of taxpayer funding. This is complete garbage. Thank you, Madam Chair.”
Watch the clip here:
Gill’s remarks were echoed by President Trump’s suggestions that he might defund NPR When asked about the future of PBS and NPR, he said, “We’re well covered. Look at all the people that we have here today. We’re well covered, and we don’t need it. And it’s a waste of money, especially. I don’t even know what DOGE’s recommendation is.”
Watch Trump here:
In the comments under the clip of Gill taking Maher to task, users were unconvinced by her desperate apologies. A comment read, “Nothing has changed with her beliefs she just doesn’t want to be accountable to her own words now. Defund both. NPR’s journalists are 90 per cent democrat – so much for their diversity.”
Featured image from embedded video