NPR CEO to testify to Congress over allegations of left-wing bias at outlet

The committee will look into NPR and assess the outlet's future under Maher, who took over in March. The hearing is scheduled for May 8, NBC News 15 reports.

Additionally, unearthed social media posts revealed that Maher has a bias against former President Donald Trump and is a staunch progressive, which added fuel to the fire.

"As a taxpayer-funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger US population and not just a niche audience," the committee wrote.

"As the nation's leading public radio network with a weekly audience of 42 million listeners, it is unsettling to note that 'an open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR' and that the news station is promoting strident left-wing views to the exclusion of alternative viewpoints," the committee said.

The committee was referencing recent claims made by Uri Berliner, a former NPR senior editor, who accused the organization of operating with a left-wing bias.

Republican Rep. Andy Harris of Maryland told NBC that NPR's audience contributed to the organization's perceived lack of objectivity.

"I think they’ve gone too far. They’ve established a listener base. That listener base is not going to change," said the congressman. "It tends to be the educated elites. The educated elites are a left-wing group in this country."

Furthermore, the committee brought up concerns about NPR's coverage of the Mueller report and lack of coverage on the COVID-19 lab leak theory.

The lawmakers insisted that Maher provide the number of Republicans on the NPR board and whether or not the organization's board had expressed concerns about the alleged lack of political diversity. Berliner asserted that while Republicans held no editorial positions, nearly 90 Democrats did.

“You don’t put balance in there by having 87 registered Democrats and no registered Republicans in your leadership," said Harris. "On its face, it’s obvious that this is a biased organization."