The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission said in a hearing on Wednesday that the agency was not independent, stunning Democratic lawmakers concerned that President Trump could use the government office as a tool for censorship.
The Republican chair, Brendan Carr, said in an agency oversight hearing by the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee that “formally speaking, the F.C.C. isn’t independent.”
Democrats grilled Mr. Carr in the hearing over a series of threats he had made to broadcasters about revoking local broadcast licenses for content that is not in the public’s interest. In September, he threatened to take away local licenses of ABC stations that aired Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show because of Mr. Kimmel’s remarks about the killer of the right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Sinclair and Nexstar briefly suspended Mr. Kimmel’s show on local ABC stations that they own, and ABC, which is owned by Disney, temporarily pulled it off the air. Mr. Carr has also opened investigations into all of the major broadcasters, including NPR, for content decisions and advertising.
Mr. Carr has argued that local stations that carry the television and radio content are held to a “public interest” standard. Mr. Trump has pushed for the F.C.C. to use its powers over the broadcast industry to retaliate against coverage that he has deemed unfavorable to him. The agency’s main power over the industry lies in its approvals of mergers and of licenses to broadcasters to use the public airwaves.
In Wednesday’s hearing, Mr. Carr, a career telecommunications lawyer, said the 1934 Communications Act did not explicitly describe the president’s authority over the agency. “So I can be fired by the president for no reason or any reason at all,” he said.
Democrats balked at his remarks. Senator Edward J. Markey of Massachusetts said the use of broadcast license renewals to pressure media that have mergers and other regulatory matters before the agency would be “weaponizing the public interest standard.”
Several Democrats noted that the F.C.C. website’s mission statement describes it as an independent agency. As of Wednesday afternoon, the word “independent” did not appear on the agency’s mission page.
“Trump is not your boss, so the American people are your boss,” said Senator Andy Kim, Democrat of New Jersey.
Cecilia Kang reports on technology and regulatory policy for The Times from Washington. She has written about technology for over two decades.
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