Republican Sen. Ted Cruz accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of overstepping his authority after the agency demanded Disney file for an early license renewal of ABC’s eight local broadcast stations.
“It is not government’s job to censor speech, and I do not believe the FCC should operate as the speech police,” Cruz told Punchbowl News.
The FCC’s request, which must be completed within 30 days or by May 28, is linked to an investigation into possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and agency rules, including the ban on unlawful discrimination. It follows Carr’s previous threats against Disney’s broadcast licenses over the company’s diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives.
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| Ted Cruz |
This is not the first clash between Cruz and Carr over FCC actions targeting Kimmel. Last year, after Carr threatened to pull Kimmel off the air over comments about Charlie Kirk, telling Disney to “do this the easy way or the hard way”, Cruz called the remarks “dangerous as hell” and compared them to mafia-style intimidation.
During a subsequent Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing, Cruz agreed that Kimmel is “angry, overtly partisan and profoundly unfunny,” but stressed that the government cannot coerce private entities into actions it could not take directly.
“Government officials threatening adverse consequences for disfavored content is an unconstitutional coercion that chills protected speech,” Cruz said at the time.