‘Fire Elon, Save Elmo’: Democratic Rep. Robert Garcia uses 'Sesame Street' to defend PBS and NPR during DOGE hearing
Rep. Robert Garcia mocked Republicans' attacks on PBS and NPR during the DOGE hearing, defending the essential role of public broadcasting with humorous references to Sesame Street characters.
In a heated DOGE subcommittee hearing on March 26, 2025, Democrats, led by Rep. Robert Garcia, used humor and popular PBS characters to counter Republicans' attacks on NPR and PBS. Republicans, including committee chair Marjorie Taylor Greene, targeted the two publicly funded broadcasters, accusing them of harboring "radical, left-wing" content and promoting an "anti-American" agenda.
Rep. Robert Garcia seized the moment to skewer the Republicans, using beloved Sesame Street characters like Elmo and Miss Piggy to defend the value of public broadcasting.
Who is Rep. Robert Garcia, and How did he use Sesame Street characters to defend public broadcasting?
Rep. Robert Garcia, a Democrat, redirected the conversation by using humor and well-known PBS characters to prove public broadcasting is worth fighting for. In front of a sign that said: "Fire Elon, Save Elmo", he stood in front of the hearing comitee, while mocking GOP’s focus on defunding PBS and NPR. Garcia also stated that this move is a deliberate distraction from Elon Musk's influence in the White House.
“If we’re going to get rid of any puppeteers, we should get rid of the one that’s actually controlling Donald Trump. Fire Elon Musk and save Elmo,” Rep. Garcia stated.
While Garcia cleverly referenced Sesame Street characters with questions like: “Has Miss Piggy ever been caught trying to funnel billions of dollars in government contracts to herself and her companies?” or “How about Arthur the Aardvark? Has he ever fired government watchdogs investigating his companies?”; he highlighted the fact that PBS and NPR's funding is minimal compared to the financial power companies like Elon Musk’s.
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Marjorie Taylor Greene pushes to defund PBS and NPR, accusing public media of bias
The DOGE subcommittee hearing was led by Marjorie Taylor Greene, and it saw Republicans accusing PBS and NPR of promoting "anti-American", "radical, left-wing" agendas. The argument many Republicans were preaching was that taxpayer funds should not go towards such biased content.
The move was part of a broader effort to reduce government spending, despite the essential role public media plays.