When Nancy Pelosi stacks a committee against Donald Trump, NPR treats that committee as the most newsworthy committee ever. By contrast, House Oversight Committee chairman James Comer can’t count on NPR to notice his committee’s investigations at all.
So it was mildly shocking that NPR’s Weekend Edition Saturday devoted a three-minute puff piece on the new ranking Democrat on Comer’s committee. A search of NPR's website revealed Comer has received three soundbites all year in 2025. This story was headlined “As Democrats spoil for a fight, a new face in the House is leading them on oversight.”
Reporter Luke Garrett began by noting Garcia has a framed picture of Clark Kent on his office wall, since he learned English from comic books. “Garcia and his family settled east of Los Angeles in Covina, California, as, in his words, undocumented residents.” NPR loves a good illegal-alien-becomes-Democrat story. Online but not on air, NPR noted Garcia's the "first openly gay immigrant to serve in Congress."
Then Garcia noted he lost his mother and stepfather to Covid. Guess who he blames:
GARRETT: Garcia blames many COVID deaths on what he calls the blunders of Donald Trump. It's what motivated him to run for an open House seat representing the Long Beach area. During his first term in Congress, Garcia quickly rose the Democratic ranks, getting a seat on the Oversight Committee. Known for its raucous hearings on some of the most divisive areas of American politics, the House Oversight Committee is among the most high-profile arenas in Congress. Democratic Representative Jamie Raskin, who once held the same position, says there's a lot Garcia can accomplish in this role.
JAMIE RASKIN: As ranking member, what Robert gets is a bully pulpit.
GARRETT: And that kind of megaphone is important because as ranking member, Garcia is unable to subpoena witnesses or control the panel's agenda. Those tools are reserved for the committee's GOP chairman.
But NPR is a megaphone and a bully pulpit for Democrats and has largely ignored the GOP chairman.
NPR and its audience are optimistic the Democrats can retake the House in 2026 and put all the probes back on Trump. Garcia has a 5 percent conservative rating from the Institute for Legislative Analysis. An ultraliberal, like Pelosi and Maxine Waters.
GARRETT: One area where he wants more oversight is the Trump administration's mass deportation effort.
GARCIA: We're asking Homeland Security and Secretary Noem for answers on a variety of questions and demanding that members of Congress be allowed their oversight responsibility.
GARRETT: Raskin and other Democrats picked Garcia over more senior members for this role.
GARCIA: I get that, you know, most ranking members are maybe a little more senior and more - you know, more time in Congress. That doesn't bother me. I think it's a good thing.
Yes, we can guess they picked the former illegal alien to be their Superman fighting evil ICE in oversight hearings. He's been in the House for just two and a half years. He leapfrogged over others like Rep. Stephen Lynch, with 25 years in the House.
Garrett closed his "ready to fight" puff piece by noting Rep. Nancy Mace (R-SC) "tried to censure Garcia for his combative comments about Elon Musk and his DOGE effort." But he offered no specifics.
In a CNN interview, Garcia boasted “What I think is really important and what the American public want is for us to bring actual weapons to this bar fight. This is an actual fight for democracy, for the future of this country." Mace objected to the violent language of "actual weapons."
It doesn't hurt that Garcia brought the "fight" to defend PBS and NPR at the House DOGE hearing in March, asking if Elmo was a member of the Communist Party. (Because he's red, har har).
Image from YouTube
