Democratic Rep. Jasmine Crockett unleashed a profanity-laced tirade at Republicans during a Wednesday hearing on National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting System (PBS).
The House Oversight Committee’s Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency held a hearing titled “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable” during which Republicans questioned continued taxpayer funding for the media outlets. Crockett, who has a history of launching personal attacks on Republicans since she was elected in the 2022 midterm elections, ranted about the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) when recognized by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene of Georgia, who chairs the subcommittee.
“The DOGE agenda isn’t about government efficiency, it’s about breeding corruption at the expense of the safety of the American people, particularly Americans living in rural or remote parts of the country,” Crockett claimed. “They don’t care about public safety. They don’t care about emergency management and they don’t care about free speech, all of which are harming American people.”
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After briefly questioning NPR CEO Katherine Maher about statements she made prior to assuming the post, Crockett resumed her rant.
“To be clear, free speech is not about whatever it is that y’all want somebody to say, and the idea that you want to shut down everybody that is not Fox News is bullshit. We need to stop playing, because that’s what you all are doing here, you don’t want to hear the opinions of anybody else,” Crockett said.
Maher previously defended the outlet’s news coverage after Uri Berliner, an editor who worked 25 years at the taxpayer-funded outlet, cited examples of the network’s bias in an essay published by the Free Press April 9, 2024, during which he outlined the network’s lack of “viewpoint diversity.” Berliner said the outlet catered overwhelmingly to very liberal whites in his essay.
Berliner was later suspended for five days by NPR for publishing the essay without clearance before resigning from the outlet.
NPR hyped allegations of collusion between Trump’s 2016 campaign and Russia that were brought forth by the Steele Dossier, which was later discredited. Berliner also criticized the outlet for dismissing revelations about Hunter Biden’s laptop and the origins of the COVID-19 pandemic.
One NPR affiliate also broadcasted speeches from Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan, who has been accused of antisemitism. Another NPR affiliate in Michigan broadcast an abortion procedure live on air.
NPR radio stations and PBS television stations receive funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), according to the CPB’s website. The United States government is forbidden from exercising “any direction, supervision, or control over the content or distribution of public telecommunications programs and services” under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967.
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