Critics haven’t held back, labeling Brendan Carr, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, as both dangerous and a national censor.
His bold response? Bring it on.
Following a temporary removal of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from ABC after Mr. Carr voiced concerns about the host’s remarks on the individual accused in the Charlie Kirk shooting, the 46-year-old regulator appears more determined than ever. He is escalating his campaign against what he perceives as liberal bias in broadcast media, sources close to him reveal.
Carr has been a frequent guest on conservative radio and Fox News, passionately defending his stance. He argues that local broadcasters are now catering to audiences weary of partisan programming. He’s even hinted at an FCC investigation into ABC’s “The View” for its political discussions and vows to continue empowering local TV stations to decline shows they find objectionable.
While his tone regarding ABC has softened slightly, Carr’s core message remains unyielding: he has no intention of stopping. At a recent conference, he asserted, “Many Democrats are engaged in a campaign of projection and distortion. They are completely misrepresenting the work of the F.C.C. and what we’ve been doing.”
He emphasized that the FCC will uphold its Congressional mandate to ensure broadcast television serves the public interest, challenging critics by stating, “If people don’t like it, they can go to Congress and change the law.”
Fueled by a conviction that left-leaning tech and media giants suppress conservative voices, Carr is actively reshaping the FCC. What was once a quiet agency, primarily known for local TV licensing and 5G expansion, is now becoming a staunch defender of conservative speech. Interviews with ten current and former FCC officials confirm his efforts to expand the agency’s role in regulating television content.
Since becoming FCC chairman in January, Carr has consistently portrayed himself as a First Amendment advocate. He contends that his involvement in local TV programming decisions, aimed at ensuring they serve the public interest, is a way to protect free speech.
His initiatives include revisiting complaints of biased programming by ABC, NBC, and CBS during the 2024 election, even targeting “Saturday Night Live” for an episode featuring then-Vice President Kamala Harris. He’s also investigating PBS and NPR for alleged violations of commercial broadcasting rules and has threatened to block media mergers that could compromise local station autonomy.
Carr is now utilizing the agency’s authority to withhold local TV station licenses from those he deems to be broadcasting biased content, thus failing to serve the public interest.
Last week, when Carr publicly criticized Jimmy Kimmel, he hinted at revoking local stations’ licenses for airing “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” This led to two major local TV groups, Nexstar and Sinclair, announcing they would not carry the show. Even after Kimmel’s return on Tuesday, both groups maintained their decision, a move Carr publicly commended.
On Tuesday, he celebrated this development on social media, stating, “Notably, this is the first time recently that any local TV stations have pushed back on a national programmer like Disney. And that is a good thing because we want empowered local TV stations.”
Carr’s aggressive approach has sparked widespread concern among lawmakers, from the left to some on the right, including Senators Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, who view his actions as infringements on First Amendment rights. Meanwhile, his efforts have garnered strong approval from former President Trump, known for his campaigns against critics and perceived enemies.
Chris Lewis, president of the progressive public interest group Public Knowledge, expressed alarm, calling it “a level of censorship we haven’t seen in my lifetime.”
Carr himself did not provide a comment, with an FCC spokesman referring to his recent public interviews.
Nathan Leamer, a former senior adviser to Carr, noted that “His strategy is coming together.”
An accompanying image depicts a name tag for “Chairman Brendan Carr.” Before his 2017 appointment to the FCC by then-President Trump, Carr reportedly sought a national platform, according to two former agency officials.
With a background as a telecom lawyer and former general counsel for the FCC, Carr’s expertise in telecom law is widely recognized. He is an alumnus of Georgetown University and Columbus Law School at Catholic University.
Seeking a national spotlight, Carr, with his aides’ encouragement, began inundating social media with criticisms aimed at major tech companies, former agency officials revealed.
His public profile rose in April 2019 with an appearance on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight.” He criticized Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s opinion piece advocating government regulation of speech.
Addressing millions, Carr declared, “Outsourcing censorship to the government isn’t just a bad idea, it’s a violation of the First Amendment. So I’m a no on that.” This moment solidified his status as a rising conservative figure.
By 2022, a prominent conservative think tank tapped Carr to author the FCC chapter for Project 2025, a comprehensive policy framework aimed at overhauling the federal government. His chapter advocated for free speech, the repeal of Section 230 (which shields social media companies from content moderation liability), and for tech companies to fund rural broadband internet subsidies.
Leading up to the 2024 election, Carr was a vocal critic of CBS, NBC, and ABC’s political reporting. He specifically accused NBC of violating equal airtime rules when then-Vice President Kamala Harris appeared on “Saturday Night Live.”
On November 2, he posted on social media, “The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct — a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election.”
Just two weeks after these remarks, President-elect Trump appointed Carr as the new FCC chairman.
An image shows Brendan Carr alongside Donald Trump, highlighting his appointment as FCC chairman shortly after his social media comments regarding biased broadcast content before the election.
Upon assuming leadership, Carr promptly reopened complaints previously dismissed by his predecessor, focusing on allegations of biased and unfair programming by local TV stations during the election cycle.
These investigations scrutinized “Saturday Night Live,” “ABC News” for its handling of an early presidential debate, and a particular edit of a CBS “60 Minutes” interview with Kamala Harris.
(It’s worth noting that Paramount, CBS’s parent company, later settled a $16 million lawsuit with Mr. Trump over claims that CBS had favorably edited the interview. Shortly after this, Carr approved an $8 billion merger between Skydance and Paramount.)
The FCC’s significant power stems from its control over broadcasting licenses. Legally, license holders must operate their stations in the “public interest, convenience and necessity” — a mandate the agency rarely uses to revoke licenses.
During his inaugural FCC meeting as chairman in February, Carr began proceedings with the Pledge of Allegiance. He highlighted a record low in public trust for national networks, expressing his desire to empower local broadcasters.
At the public meeting, Carr explained, “They have something special that distinguishes them from lots of other speakers, which is that they have this right to use the federal spectrum, which is a scarce resource. For a lot of years, the F.C.C. walked away from enforcing that public interest obligation.”
ABC’s daytime talk show, “The View,” a frequent critic of Mr. Trump, might be Carr’s next target. As a classified news program, it is currently exempt from rules requiring equal airtime for political candidates.
Last week, Carr publicly suggested to a radio host that the FCC should “look into whether ‘The View’ and some of the programs that you have still qualify as bona fide news programs.”
While not directly responding to Carr’s comments, “The View” hosts on Monday instead emphasized and defended the right to free speech.
Research contributed by Kitty Bennett.