Carr Scheduled To Testify Before House Committee

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr will testify before the House Energy and Commerce Committee on January 14, 2026, alongside Commissioners Anna Gomez and Olivia Trusty, in an oversight hearing focused on priorities like broadband expansion, spectrum management, wireless innovation, network security, and emerging AI governance.

The session comes less than a month after Carr's December 2025 appearance before the Senate Commerce Committee and follows President Donald Trump's recent Executive Order directing the FCC to initiate a rulemaking for a potential national disclosure and reporting framework for AI models. 

This could preempt conflicting state laws, a move Carr has praised as "historic" for advancing national security, limiting ideological bias in AI, and reducing state interference—though it has heightened federal-state tensions over AI regulation.

Committee leaders Chairman Brett Guthrie (R-KY) and Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson (R-NC) emphasized keeping the FCC aligned with constituent concerns, including closing the digital divide and bolstering U.S. competitiveness in 5G and 6G.

Other likely topics include the bipartisan AM Radio for Every Vehicle Act, which Carr previously called essential for emergency alerts amid automakers' phase-out of AM bands in electric vehicles, as well as updates on local broadcasting, public interest obligations, deregulation, cybersecurity, and removing foreign telecom equipment from U.S. networks.