NPR’s Katherine Maher Fails to Justify Her Pro-Censorship Views and Woke Social Media Posts During Fiery DOGE Hearing

National Public Radio CEO Katherine Maher was put on the congressional hot seat Wednesday, where she tried to explain her role in censoring information as CEO of Wikipedia, her support for removing political opponents from social media platforms, and her disturbing history of posting outrageously woke commentary on social media.

Maher testified before the DOGE subcommittee hearing on “Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,” along with PBS CEO Paula Kerger, the Heritage Foundation’s Michael Gonzalez, and minority witness Ed Ulman, who is President and CEO of Alaska Public Media.

In her opening remarks, Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.) discussed how NPR and PBS have increasingly “become radical, left-wing echo chambers catering to a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives” and argued that taxpayers should not be forced to fund biased news.

After opening statements, Greene and other Republicans blasted the NPR CEO over her past, blatantly biased statements.

Greene read a number of Maher’s more egregious “hot takes” previously shared on social media, including her descriptions of President Donald Trump as a “deranged, racist sociopath,” and America  as “addicted to White supremacy.”  The head of NPR has also shared that she finds the terms “boy and girl” to be “erasing language” for non-binary people.

“The federal funding that your outlet receives comes from all American taxpayer dollars. Not just from your viewers who support such statements as these, let me inform you that your federal funding is also paid for by the other half of the country. The 77 million Americans who voted for President Trump. Someone you called a deranged, racist sociopath,” Greene said.

Maher later told Rep. Burchett (R-Tenn.) that she regretted making those comments on then-Twitter.

“I would not tweet them again today,” she insisted. “They represented at the time when I was reflecting on something I believed that the president had said, rather than who he is.”

But more concerning than her woke political views, according to Greene, are Maher’s “pro-censorship and anti-free speech views.”

“The only speech you like seems to be speech that you agree with,” Greene said.

The congresswoman then reminded the NPR CEO of her past statements supporting censorship of “bad information.”

“In 2021, you called the First Amendment the No. 1 challenge in American journalism because it makes it hard to crack down on bad information. You said in a Ted Talk that our reverence for the truth might be a distraction. You’ve also expressed support for deplatforming individuals you view as fascist,” Greene said. “Who do you think should be charged with cracking down on so-called bad information? Is it NPR? Is it the government? Is it you?”

Maher replied, “Absolutely not, I am a very strong believer in free speech.”

Greene shot back that Maher’s “public statements say otherwise” and accused her of censoring information related to the COVID pandemic when she was the CEO of Wikipedia.

“Madam Chair, Wikipedia never censored any information,” Maher said.

When Rep. Brandon Gill (R-Texas) grilled Maher about her past support for reparations,  Maher denied it.

“I have never said that sir,” she insisted.

Gill went on to read the 2020 tweet verbatim: “Yes, the North, yes all of us, yes America, yes, our original collective sin and unpaid debt, yes reparations, yes on this day.”

“I don’t believe that was a reference to fiscal reparations,” Maher replied.

Laughing, Gill pressed the NPR honcho to explain what type of reparation she had in mind.

“I think it was just a reference to how we all owe much to the people who came before us,” she claimed.

Maher insisted that NPR is not politically biased against Republicans even after Rep. Jordan (R-Ohio) pointed out every single one of the 87 editorial positions at the public broadcaster in Washington DC are filled by registered Democrats. Jordan also pointed out that NPR took factually wrong positions on the three biggest stories of the past five years, RussiaGate, the origins of COVID, and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

“You guys were 0 for 3 on the three biggest stories in the past five years. You guys were 0 for 3!” Jordan declared. “And yet you maintain that NPR is not biased?”

Maher responded weakly, “Congressman, I do not believe that we are politically biased. No, we are a nonpartisan organization.”

Maher’s testimony  did little to sway Republicans who have already introduced legislation to defund NPR.

In her closing statement, Greene said: “After listening to what we’ve heard today, we will be calling for the complete and total defund and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

She added: “NPR & PBS can hate us on their own dime.”

When asked Tuesday whether he would consider pulling funding from NPR and PBS, Trump replied “I would love to do that. I think it’s very unfair. It’s been very biased- the whole group, the whole group of them.”

Trump added that taxpayer money was “being wasted” on NPR and PBS and that  he’d be “honored” to cut the funding.