NE Washington News

House Energy and Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA), Subcommittee on Communications and Technology Chair Bob Latta (R-OH), and Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Chair Morgan Griffith (R-VA) have initiated an investigation into allegations of political bias at NPR, a taxpayer-funded public radio organization. The Committee has requested NPR CEO Katherine Maher to appear before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee for a hearing on May 8, 2024.

In a letter addressed to Maher, the Chairs expressed their concerns about the direction of NPR under past and present leadership, emphasizing the importance of fair and objective news reporting that reflects the views of the wider U.S. population. They highlighted their unease with NPR's coverage of major news events in recent years, accusing the organization of approaching reporting with an extreme left-leaning bias on issues such as the Mueller report, the Hunter Biden laptop, and the COVID-19 origins investigation.

Regarding the investigation, Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) stated, “In light of the recent, disturbing revelations about National Public Radio (NPR) and its leadership, I’ve directed Chair McMorris Rodgers and the Energy and Commerce Committee to conduct an investigation of NPR and determine what actions should be taken to hold the organization accountable for its ideological bias and contempt for facts. The American people support the free press but will not be made to fund a left-leaning political agenda with taxpayer funds.”

The Committee's initiative aims to ensure that NPR upholds principles of fairness, objectivity, and factual reporting in its coverage. The investigation seeks to determine the extent of any ideological bias within NPR and to explore potential measures to address and rectify such concerns.