A CBS News exec said the network is hiring more Republicans because 'we know' they'll take over after the midterms: report

• The Washington Post obtained a recording of a meeting with the CBS News copresident Neeraj Khemlani.
• He said a "likely" Democratic wipeout in the midterms meant CBS needed to hire more Republicans.

A CBS News executive told staff earlier this month that the network was hiring more Republicans as analysts because he believed there would "likely" be a Democratic wipeout in the 2022 midterm elections, The Washington Post reported on Wednesday, citing a leaked recording it obtained.

Neeraj Khemlani, a CBS News copresident, made the remark just before the announcement that the network had hired Mick Mulvaney, who briefly served as President Donald Trump's chief of staff, as an analyst. The decision sparked internal backlash, The Post reported.

In February 2020, Mulvaney accused journalists of exaggerating the impact of the coronavirus to damage Trump. Mulvaney also played a key role in the campaign to pressure Ukraine to smear Joe Biden, which resulted in Trump's first impeachment.

In an apparent attempt to lay the groundwork for the announcement of Mulvaney's hiring, Khemlani told morning-show staff members that hiring Republicans would give the network better coverage, The Post reported.

"If you look at some of the people that we've been hiring on a contributor basis, being able to make sure that we are getting access to both sides of the aisle is a priority because we know the Republicans are going to take over, most likely, in the midterms," Khemlani said, according to The Post.

"A lot of the people that we're bringing in are helping us in terms of access to that side of the equation."

Political analysts widely expect the Republican Party to make significant gains in the midterms. A recent NBC News poll suggested that Biden's approval rating was sagging because of inflation and other economic issues.

If a "red wave" of Republican victories materializes, Democrats could lose control of the House and the Senate, stymieing Biden's plans for issues ranging from the environment to voting rights.

Relations between the media and the White House were at historic lows during Trump's term, with top officials frequently railing against the press and picking fights with individual reporters.

Many news outlets accused Trump and senior officials of spreading falsehoods and misinformation on issues including the COVID-19 pandemic and voter fraud.

Several former Trump officials have gone on to be employed as analysts on conservative-leaning networks including Fox News and Newsmax, though few have found regular gigs on mainstream networks.