Lawmakers in the U.S. House of Representatives’ House Oversight Committee want Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr to testify about his agency’s actions and recent comments he made about local television broadcasters.
On Thursday, Rep. Robert Garcia of California said he is working with the Chairman of the House Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer of Kentucky, on a plan that would compel Carr to testify before the committee in the near future.
“We’re both going to try to work together to try to bring Mr. Carr in to the Oversight Committee,” Garcia said. “It’s of interest to both the majority and the minority.”
Garcia’s comments came after his colleague, Rep. Ro Khanna of California, made an unsuccessful attempt to compel Carr’s testimony through a subpoena. The motion for a subpoena failed along party lines.
Carr has come under intense scrutiny after he appeared on a conservative podcast Wednesday, during which he made a veiled threat to the Walt Disney Company and its broadcast network ABC over a monologue delivered by talk show host “Jimmy Kimmel” earlier in the week.
The monologue concerned President Donald Trump’s reaction to the fatal shooting of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Kimmel also wrongly implied that the shooting suspect, Tyler Robinson, held political views that were aligned with supporters of Trump. The monologue was aired before prosecutors filed an indictment against Robinson that made a number of allegations, including a motivation rooted in progressive ideologies.
“Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean — look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Hours after Carr’s comments, two large broadcast groups — Nexstar Media Group and Sinclair, Inc. — said they were pulling Kimmel’s show from their local ABC affiliates. Both broadcasters have pending business transactions that require FCC approval. ABC eventually put Kimmel’s show on hiatus without firing or suspending him.
Through his comments, Carr has influenced other regulated companies to take similar actions that align with his political world views. Paramount, the owner of CBS, and Nexstar each pulled back on publicly promoting their diversity, equity and inclusiveness (DEI) initiatives after Carr sent letters to Disney and NBC owner Comcast inquiring about their DEI programs and practices.
Carr also re-opened complaints about news distortion against two network-owned local TV stations — WCBS (Channel 2) in New York and WPVI (Channel 6) in Philadelphia — after his predecessor, former Chair Jessica Rosenworcel, had closed them. Legal experts who have spoken with The Desk since the matter was reopened said Carr didn’t have the authority to re-open the cases without full approval from the FCC board, and that any punishment he imparts will likely lead to a legal challenge.
In April, three Democratic lawmakers — Representatives Franke Pallone of New Jersey, Doris Matsui of California and Yvette D. Clarke of New York state — sent a letter to Carr expressing concern over his purported weaponization of the FCC, including his decision to target the two TV stations and comments that were critical of other outlets, including KCBS Radio, NPR, PBS and YouTube TV.
“These recent actions uniformly and improperly wield the regulatory power of your agency to abridge the First Amendment rights of the entities you target,” the lawmakers said. “Many of these actions also impermissibly attempt to stretch the bounds of the FCC’s authority or engross statutory requirements in ways that are inappropriate, particularly in light of recent court decisions — that you had celebrated — which seek to narrow agency discretion.”
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Read more:
- Broadcasters who criticized Jimmy Kimmel have deals pending before FCC
- FCC Chair Brendan Carr targets Disney’s DEI practices
- Trump suggests pulling broadcast licenses of NBC, ABC stations
- Press advocacy group seeks disbarment of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr
- Lawmakers accuse FCC Chairman Carr of weaponizing agency
