Brendan Carr, the Federal Communications Commission chair who once vowed to "dismantle the censorship cartel," has used his new perch to pressure broadcasters in ways critics call unprecedented, moves that helped spur ABC to sideline Jimmy Kimmel after his remarks about Charlie Kirk's killer.
Why it matters: House Democrats called for Carr's resignation Thursday, accusing him of abusing his power by "bullying ABC."
The latest: The network pulled its late-night host after the FCC chair threatened broadcasters with license revocations or fines following the comedian's monologue on reactions to the killing of Turning Point USA co-founder Charlie Kirk.
Catch up quick: After Kirk's shooting, Kimmel criticized "the MAGA gang" for trying to characterize the killer as "anything other than one of them" while "doing everything they can to score political points."
The other side: On a conservative podcast, the FCC chair urged local stations to drop "garbage" programming like Kimmel's show to avoid "fines or license revocations."
Friction point: Carr's critics have pointed to his past criticisms of censorship and the FCC's role in policing speech.
- One such post that's taken on new life is a 2022 thread about Twitter suspending conservative parody site the Babylon Bee, in which Carr wrote, "President Biden is right. Political satire is one of the oldest and most important forms of free speech."
- "It challenges those in power while using humor to draw more people in to the discussion," he continued. "That's why people in influential positions have always targeted it for censorship."
State of play: The FCC swung to the right after Trump filled a previously Democratic-held seat.
The big picture: Ahead of his return to Pennsylvania Avenue, Trump vowed to target the media. Through lawsuits and political and regulatory pressure, the administration has followed through.
- Trump has advocated for broadcasters to lose their licenses. While national networks aren't licensed by the FCC, local stations that air national shows are.
- The president has also launched lawsuits against The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CBS, ABC and the Des Moines Register.
Flashback: Under Trump's first presidency, the FCC rolled back media ownership rules, fueling local broadcast consolidation.
- When Trump pressured then-FCC chair Ajit Pai to punish NBC for what the president saw as critical coverage, Pai sided with the First Amendment.
Here's what to know about Carr.
Carr v. Kimmel
Between the lines: In Kimmel's opening monologue after Kirk's death, he lambasted conservatives' response to the death.
- "We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said.
- He then criticized President Trump's reaction, showing a clip of the president, responding to a question about Kirk's death by changing the topic to White House ballroom renovations.
- A day earlier, Utah Gov. Spencer Cox (R) said on NBC's "Meet The Press" the alleged shooter showed signs of a "leftist ideology."
The latest: The same day Carr urged stations to drop Kimmel, Nexstar, one of the largest local broadcast groups, said it would remove the show Sept. 17 "for the foreseeable future." ABC then suspended Kimmel's show "indefinitely."
- Carr applauded Nexstar's decision, writing on X, "Local broadcasters have an obligation to serve the public interest."
- "While this may be an unprecedented decision, it is important for broadcasters to push back on Disney programming that they determine falls short of community values," he added.
What are Carr's views?
Carr, a lawyer who joined the FCC in 2012 as a staffer, was nominated to serve as a commissioner by Trump and by former President Biden.
- After thanking Trump for his appointment, Carr slammed the "censorship cartel" he said was restricting free speech and vowed to enforce the "public interest obligation" of broadcast media.
- In the wake of ABC's Kimmel shutdown, Carr's critics have highlighted his 2019 tweet in which he argued, "The FCC does not have a roving mandate to police speech in the name of the 'public interest.'"
His appointment was criticized by media reform group Free Press, but others — like Gigi Sohn, a failed Biden FCC nominee — praised his experience.
- "We may not agree on everything (or much of anything!), but he is highly qualified and a good guy," Sohn wrote on X.
- Speaking to Axios in 2018, Carr had applauded the commission's ability to work together despite clashing over key differences.
- "What I've seen people do on this commission, is we say our piece, we can be as fired up about it as we want to be, but then the next day to sit back down together and see where we can find common ground," he said.
What did he write in Project 2025?
In one Project 2025 chapter, Carr outlined his goals for the FCC, including "reining in Big Tech" and "promoting national security."
- He called for the FCC to re-interpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act, which protects tech platforms from lawsuits over moderation practices and user-posted content, to eliminate "expansive, non-textual immunities that courts have read into the statute."
- During the campaign, Trump distanced himself from the Heritage-Foundation-backed wishlist, but many policy preferences in the text have become reality under Trump's second term.
Reality check: While Carr advocated for the FCC to "remind courts how the various portions of Section 230 operate," the agency can't unilaterally walk back protections set in place by the law.
- Rather, it would have to be repealed by Congress. Members in recent years have repeatedly tried to reform or repeal the embattled provision.
Go deeper: FCC commissioner says government should ban TikTok
Editor's note: This story has been updated with additional reporting throughout.
