In a Feb. 3 letter to PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger, Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), chairwoman of the House Oversight and Accountability Committee's (HOAC) Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE), cited as an example of such coverage PBS reporting that characterized a recent gesture by Elon Musk as a "Nazi salute."

Musk vigorously denied the allegation and Greene pointed to the Anti-Defamation League's statement that said Musk "made an awkward gesture in a moment of enthusiasm, not a Nazi salute."

Greene told Kerger that "this sort of bias betrays the principles of objective reporting and undermines public trust. As an organization that receives federal funds through its member stations, PBS should provide reporting that serves the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups."

In response, a PBS spokesman released a statement to The Epoch Times saying the outlet is "grateful to have bipartisan support in Congress, and our country. We've earned this support from decades of noncommercial and nonpartisan work in local communities: providing all Americans with content they trust."

The statement continued, saying PBS is committed to offering "a broad range of stories and programs that help citizens understand our past and shape our future; and helping children and families open up worlds of possibilities through educational programming."

In a similar Feb. 3 letter to NPR President and Chief Executive Officer Katherine Maher, Greene pointed to NPR's refusal to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story because "we don't want to waste the listeners' and readers' time on stories that are just pure distractions" as evidence of unacceptable bias in federally funded news coverage.

An NPR spokesman released the following statement to The Epoch Times concerning the hearing:

"Since its inception, NPR has collaborated with local nonprofit public media organizations to fill critical needs for news and information in America's communities. We constantly strive to hold ourselves to the highest standards of journalism. ... We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public."