NPR CEO, Who Called Trump 'Deranged Racist Sociopath,' Tells Congress There's No 'Political Bias' at Taxpayer-Funded Broadcaster
Katherine Maher also said NPR should have covered 'the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively' and botched coverage of COVID origins
Meghan Blonder, Matthew Xiao and Thaleigha Rampersad
March 26, 2025
NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who once called President Donald Trump a "deranged racist sociopath," testified Wednesday to Congress that she's "never seen … political bias" at the taxpayer-funded outlet, a comment that provoked laughter.
"Is NPR biased?" Rep. Jim Jordan (R., Ohio) asked Maher.
"Congressman, I have never seen any instance of—" Maher said.
"Never?" Jordan said.
"—of political bias determining editorial decisions, no," Maher continued. The answer prompted laughter that can be heard in video of the hearing.
Even as Maher rejected charges of political bias at NPR, she acknowledged that the outlet delivered poor coverage of two politically charged stories: the Hunter Biden laptop and the origins of COVID-19. NPR was "mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner," Maher said. She acknowledged that "the new CIA evidence" about the Wuhan lab leak "is worthy of coverage."
Maher did not say what explained those mistakes if not political bias. She did say that the number of registered Democrats working at NPR compared with registered Republicans is "a concern."
Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger appeared in front of the House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency as part of Republicans' broader effort to investigate and strip federal funding from the broadcasters. NPR and PBS for decades have taken federal funding through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which in the 2025 fiscal year alone received around $535 million from the federal government.
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https://freebeacon.com/politics/npr-ceo-who-called-trump-deranged-racist-sociopath-tells-congress-theres-no-political-bias-at-taxpayer-funded-broadcaster/
