Jasmine Crockett Clashes with Majorie Taylor Greene in Heated Congressional Hearing on NPR, PBS

A fiery exchange erupted in Congress as Representative Jasmine Crockett (D-TX) slammed Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for what she called “bulls—” during a contentious hearing over public media funding and alleged political bias.

The Texas Democrat criticized Greene for leading the hearing, which questioned NPR and PBS executives over accusations that the networks lean against conservative viewpoints. Crockett called the session an affront to the First Amendment, accusing Republicans of trying to suppress media voices that don’t align with their ideology.

“The idea that you want to shut down everybody that is not Fox News is bulls—,” Crockett said directly to Greene, who chaired the hearing. “We need to stop playing because that’s what y’all are doing in here. You don’t want to hear the opinions of anybody else.”

Tensions between the two congresswomen have been escalating for months, with Greene stoking controversy on Tuesday by questioning why Crockett was receiving a police escort following right-wing activist Laura Loomer’s unverified claims that the Democrat had “assaulted” a colleague.

Their ongoing feud has seen previous heated exchanges. During an Oversight Committee hearing last year, Greene mocked Crockett’s “fake eyelashes,” prompting Crockett to retaliate by calling Greene “bleach-blonde, bad-built, butch body.” Since then, Crockett has labeled Greene “not the brightest,” while Greene has accused Crockett of “terrorism” for encouraging protests against Elon Musk’s Tesla.

Wednesday’s hearing was convened by Greene in her role as chair of the House Oversight Committee’s subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE). Republicans, backed by former President Donald Trump, have long sought to defund NPR and PBS, citing alleged liberal bias.

Greene opened the hearing flanked by a photo of drag performer “Lil Miss Hot Mess,” attacking the artist as a “child predator” and “monster” for appearing on a PBS-affiliated program. “As a mother, if I had walked in my living room or one of my children’s bedrooms and seen this child predator targeting my children, I would become unglued,” Greene declared.

However, PBS CEO Paula Kerger refuted the claim, clarifying that the segment featuring the performer never aired on PBS but was mistakenly posted online by a local affiliate. Public records show no evidence that performer Harris Kornstein, known as Lil Miss Hot Mess, has committed any crimes against children. Greene’s accusations were shielded under Congress’ speech and debate clause, which protects lawmakers from legal repercussions for statements made during official proceedings.

Throughout the hearing, Republicans focused on allegations of bias at NPR, citing a 2023 essay by former NPR editor Uri Berliner, who claimed the organization lacked “viewpoint diversity.” Democrats, however, condemned the hearing as a political stunt designed to divert attention from reports in The Atlantic about Trump’s former national security officials allegedly discussing military strike plans in a Signal group chat.

Reps. Stephen Lynch (D-MA) and Robert Garcia (D-CA) ridiculed Republicans for prioritizing grievances against public broadcasting over pressing national security concerns. They referenced Sesame Street characters to mock the GOP’s stance, with Lynch quipping, “They would rather post up against Big Bird than deal with that issue. If shame was still a thing, this hearing would be shameful.”

As the heated session concluded, Greene played a video clip of the PBS segment, doubling down on her claims that public media was promoting inappropriate content to children. “That’s repulsive,” she said. “That’s not what children ages 3 to 8 should ever be watching.”