Chair Brendan Carr said in congressional testimony Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission is "not formally an independent agency"—a characterization that was news to lawmakers. Soon afterward, the phrase "an independent U.S. government agency" became "a U.S. government agency" in the FCC's mission statement on its website, per Axios. The revelation came as Democrats on the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee pressed Carr in his first appearance since he threatened ABC affiliates who kept airing Jimmy Kimmel's talk show. Sen. Ben Ray Lujan asked Carr whether the FCC is independent, pointing out that the term appeared on the FCC's site, CNBC reports.
Carr, who was appointed by President Trump, replied that it is not. "If this is lying, then you should just fix it," Lujan said. Later, an FCC spokesperson said the website was being updated to reflect "the positions of the agency's new leadership." The Democrats accused Carr in the hearing of using regulatory power to chill speech. FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Biden appointee, told senators the agency under Carr is trying to "intimidate government critics" and push at "the boundaries of the First Amendment." When Sen. Amy Klobuchar asked whether it was appropriate to threaten companies that air political satire, Carr pointed to broadcasters' duty to meet the "public interest" standard. Sen. Ed Markey shot back that Carr was weaponizing that standard and urged him to resign.
The chair would not say whether he thinks it's appropriate for the president to pressure him to go after media companies, per Axios. Carr did say the president has the power to fire him and other FCC commissioners. Sen. Ted Cruz, the panel chairman who had been critical of Carr's comments on Kimmel, again said that government should not be in the business of policing "truth or opinion" while repeating that he doesn't find Kimmel funny.
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