Ted Cruz demands assurances from NPR that DEI doesn't affect editorial calls

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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, pressed National Public Radio (NPR) CEO Katherine Maher to prove that Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) goals and wealthy, left-wing donors aren't influencing editorial decisions inside the newsroom. 

"As a recipient of federal funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), National Public Radio (NPR) is required by law to adhere to ‘objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.’ The organization is falling short of that mandate," he wrote in a letter to Maher. 

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Cruz asked for assurances from NPR CEO Maher that it isn't taking editorial cues from donors or DEI standards. (Getty Images)

Cruz noted that NPR receives funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in the form of grants. The CPB itself receives federal funding. 

However, he pointed out that NPR also receives donations from wealthy and often left-leaning benefactors. 

"As it turns out, NPR’s selective reporting may be driven not only by preexisting political bias within the organization but also by its private donors," the senator claimed. "The timing and content of certain NPR articles align with earmarked, multi-million-dollar donations from left-wing nonprofits looking to advance their own narratives in the press."

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He pointed to several examples of specific donors and coverage from NPR that appeared to align with each contributors' beliefs. 

"If the American taxpayer is going to finance a public broadcaster, then they deserve nothing less than fair and unbiased reporting," Cruz said. 

According to the Texas Republican, NPR "has strayed far from its ethos of ‘independent journalism in the public interest’ by allowing its liberal donors to buy desired ‘news’ coverage."

NPR was criticized by a longtime editor over coverage decisions. (Getty Images)

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An NPR spokesperson told Fox News Digital in a statement, "NPR’s newsroom is independent and free from outside influence; our supporters have no input into our editorial decisions and no access to our journalists. We’re grateful to all who support public media’s mission to deliver impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public."

Maher has been slammed for past political posts on social media.  (Getty Images)

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NPR came under renewed scrutiny earlier this year when longtime editor Uri Berliner penned an essay in the Free Press, publicly airing criticisms of his employer. He expressed concerns over NPR's coverage of various events, including allegations of former President Trump's collusion with Russia in the 2016 election, Hunter Biden's laptop and the theory that COVID-19 actually began in a lab in China and was leaked. He was suspended by NPR for the essay before resigning from the outlet entirely. 

In the wake of the scandal, which shed new light on its editorial choices, Republican lawmakers made fresh threats to the funding for CPB, which is then funneled to NPR.