Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr told a Senate committee Wednesday that the commission is “not formally…independent.”
Shortly after Kerr made this comment, the FCC appeared to remove the word “independent” from the description of the agency’s efforts on its website.
It was Carr’s first appearance before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee since he made controversial comments in September that led ABC to suspend Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night talk show.
Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, made headlines in September for his response to Kimmel’s comments after the killing of conservative commentator Charlie Kirk. Kerr responded with threats aimed at: disneyowns ABC.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Kerr told right-wing commentator Benny Johnson at the time. “These companies will be able to find a way to take action against Kimmel. If not, the FCC will have additional work to do down the road.”
Democrats on the committee pressed Kimmel on Wednesday over his criticism and threats to companies over the TV host’s comments.
Those Democrats portrayed Carr, who was appointed by President Donald Trump, as a threat to free speech and questioned whether the FCC was an independent arbiter independent of the politics of any particular presidential administration.
Also, FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, appointed by former President Joe Biden, told the committee that under the Carr administration, the FCC was working to “intimidate government critics, pressure media companies, and challenge the limits of the First Amendment.”
Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D.M.) asked Carr, “Yes or no…Is the FCC an independent agency?”
“Your website just says the FCC is independent. This is not a trick question,” Lujan added.
“The FCC is not officially an independent agency,” Kerr responded.
Asked about the removal of the word “independent” after Kerr’s remarks, an FCC spokesperson said in an email Wednesday: “The change in administration earlier this year necessitated updating the FCC’s website and materials. That work continues to ensure they reflect the position of the agency’s new leadership.”
During the hearing, Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.) asked Kerr, “Do you think it’s appropriate to use your position to threaten companies that broadcast political satire?”
“I think licensees that operate on public airwaves have a responsibility to follow public interest standards, and that has been the case for decades,” Kerr responded.
The federal law defining the public interest standard states that broadcast licensees must act in the “public interest, convenience, or necessity.”
Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., told Carr: “You’re not reinvigorating the public interest standard; you’re weaponizing the public interest standard.”
“That’s what the Carr FCC does every day,” Markey said, urging Carr to resign.
Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who chairs the Commerce Committee, compared Kerr to a “mob boss” in response to Kimmel’s suspension.
“It came from the Mafia coming into the bar and saying, ‘We have a nice bar here, we’d be sorry if something happened to you,'” Cruz said on a podcast in September.
“I like Brendan Carr. He’s a good guy and he’s the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him and what he said there was very dangerous,” Cruz said at the time.
Mr. Cruz criticized Mr. Kimmel on Wednesday, calling him “angry, overtly partisan, and completely unfunny.” But the senator also said the government should not “arbitrate truth or opinion”.
Cruz said Democrats ignored First Amendment violations under the Biden administration and tried to ban conservative figures from social media over what they deemed to be false statements related to the coronavirus.
“For government officials to threaten negative repercussions for objectionable content is an unconstitutional coercion that chills protected speech,” Cruz said.
Asked if he was responsible for Kimmel’s suspension, Kerr said, “They made these business decisions themselves. The record is clear on this.”
ABC’s suspension of Kimmel lasted less than a week following public backlash against the move.
Shortly before the network suspended the host, Nexstar Media Group announced that his show would be pre-aired on all ABC affiliates.
Nexstar is seeking FCC approval for its $6.2 billion merger with Tegna.
A group of Democrats in the House and Senate, including Sen. Jacky Rosen, D-Nev., on the Commerce Committee, sent a letter to Mr. Carr this week urging the FCC to closely examine the proposed merger, warning that it would create a “media giant far outpacing its competitors.”
