FCC chair suggests agency is not independent amid fears of Trump power grab | Trump administration
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is not an “independent” agency, its chairman suggested Wednesday, with the word removed from his online mission statement.
Brendan Carr’s statement to senators raised concerns about another power grab by the White House, amid worries about efforts by Donald Trump and his officials to exert greater control over independent agencies since returning to power in January.
The FCC, Carr told the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee on Wednesday, “is not an independent agency, formally speaking.”
Shortly before Carr spoke, the FCC registered its status as an “independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress” in a mission statement posted on its website, according to a screenshot captured by Axios. During his testimony, however, the word “independent” was deleted.
Carr is a staunch Trump supporter and was accused in September of threatening television networks that aired content the president didn’t like, including ABC, after comments critical of Trump made by late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel.
Kimmel’s show was reinstated after a short hiatus, prompting further tirades from Trump that continued last month.
During Wednesday’s hearing, Democratic senators challenged Carr over comments he made regarding Kimmel. “We can do it the easy way or the hard way,” Carr told a conservative podcaster amid right-wing attacks over comments Kimmel made after Charlie Kirk’s death. “These companies can find ways to change their ways and take action, frankly, against Kimmel or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Kimmel said the “Maga gang” was “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as something other than one of them and doing everything they could to get political points out of it.” Those comments came before charging documents allege the shooter held left-wing views.
Questioning Carr on Wednesday, Democratic Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota asked, “Do you think it’s appropriate to use your position to threaten companies that distribute political satire?”
The FCC chairman responded by referring to the public interest standard, which dates back to a 1934 federal law and is today considered vague. “I think any licensee who operates on the public airwaves has a responsibility to meet the public interest standard, and that has been the case for decades,” Carr said.
Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey later took him to task over the FCC’s investigation of a San Francisco broadcaster. “This is government censorship, pure and simple,” Markey said.
Carr responded: “Broadcasters understand that, perhaps for the first time in years, they are going to be held accountable to the public interest, to the hoax rules, to the policy of distortion of information. I think that’s a good thing.”
In her questioning, Wisconsin Democrat Tammy Baldwin called Carr “a parrot for President Trump” who has “diminished the independence of the FCC.”
