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National Public Radio (NPR) Chief Katherine Maher will not abide by a House committee’s request to appear on Wednesday, according to the organization.
A spokesperson for NPR confirmed to Fox News Digital that Maher would not be appearing as requested before the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, citing an all-day meeting with the organization’s board of directors.
“NPR respects the Committee and its request and has offered to testify on a date in the near future that works for the Committee and Maher,” the spokesperson said in a statement.
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NPR CEO Katherine Maher will not be appearing before the House committee on Wednesday. (Getty Images)
According to NPR, the board of directors meeting was previously scheduled and has been publicly posted.
“These meetings are scheduled more than a year in advance. This meeting will be Maher’s first opportunity to review and consult with the Board on the challenges and opportunities facing the organization, including a strategy to lead NPR forward in fulfilling its public service mission to serve all of America,” they continued.
The spokesperson noted that Maher has only been CEO for six weeks, making such a meeting that much more important.
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NPR has faced backlash for nearly a month following a scathing essay from a former senior editor. (Getty Images)
“Maher is therefore unable to attend this week’s hearing and has communicated that to the committee and proposed alternate dates,” the spokesperson said. “Maher will provide written testimony in her absence.”
Last week, House Committee on Energy and Commerce Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., wrote a letter to Maher requesting her appearance on Wednesday.
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The House Energy & Commerce Committee, led by Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers, is probing NPR and its CEO Katherine Maher (Getty Images)
“The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership,” the congresswoman explained.
A committee spokesperson responded to Maher’s decision to defy the request in a statement to Fox News Digital, remarking, “It speaks volumes that Ms. Maher has chosen not to appear tomorrow to answer for how her taxpayer-funded news outlet discriminates against the viewpoints of millions of Americans.”
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NPR’s new CEO Katherine Maher has slammed critics, arguing they took her past statements out of context. (Photo By Harry Murphy/Sportsfile for Web Summit Qatar via Getty Images)
“The Chair looks forward to reviewing her thorough and transparent responses to the Committee’s letter,” they added.
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NPR has faced renewed scrutiny from Republicans over the past month since a then-senior editor at the organization aired significant concerns about its integrity in an essay. Among other revelations, Uri Berliner discovered that the NPR newsroom was composed of nearly entirely Democrats and no Republicans.
Some Republicans have called for federal funding that is given to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) for NPR to be revoked amid the discovery.
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