By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Dec 17 (Reuters) – The head of the Federal Communications Commission will face questions on Wednesday from the Senate Commerce Committee after facing bipartisan criticism for pressuring broadcasters to take ABC late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel off the air in September.
FCC Chair Brendan Carr will testify alongside commissioners Olivia Trusty and Anna Gomez.
The hearing comes as President Donald Trump has repeatedly pressured Carr to take action against U.S. broadcasters, criticized news coverage and said he will have a role in whether a proposed merger between Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery should go forward.
Last month, Trump criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist and suggested the commission should move to revoke the broadcast licenses of Disney-owned ABC stations.
Soon after those comments, Carr said the FCC was opening a review of agreements between national networks and local broadcast stations.
“The FCC is going to continue its efforts to empower local broadcasters to meet their public interest obligations,” Carr’s written testimony says, which does not reference the Kimmel episode.
Gomez said in her written testimony the FCC under Carr has moved “to intimidate government critics, pressure media companies, and challenge the boundaries of the First Amendment,” and has “undermined its reputation as a stable, independent, and expert-driven regulatory body.”
ABC briefly suspended Kimmel’s show over comments he made about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Hours before the suspension, Carr warned that local broadcasters who aired Kimmel could face fines or loss of licenses and said “it’s time for them to step up.”
In September, Senate Commerce Committee chair Ted Cruz sharply criticized Carr after the FCC chair threatened Disney and local broadcasters airing Kimmel’s show. Cruz said the comments were “dangerous as hell.”
Sinclair and Nexstar Media Group both quickly ended a boycott of the Kimmel show.
Carr will also face questions from Democrats about FCC pressure on other broadcasters.
In July, the FCC approved the $8.4 billion merger between CBS parent Paramount Global and Skydance Media after Skydance agreed to ensure CBS news and entertainment programming is free of bias, and hire an ombudsman to review complaints and end diversity programs.
In January, Carr reinstated complaints about a CBS interview with then Vice President Kamala Harris, how ABC News moderated a debate between then-President Joe Biden and Trump, and Comcast-owned NBC for allowing Harris to appear on “Saturday Night Live” shortly before the election.
(Reporting by David Shepardson in Washington; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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