The News
FCC Chair Brendan Carr has agreed to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, a person familiar with the matter told Semafor.
The committee is chaired by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who criticized Carr’s public pressure on Disney and ABC last month over Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about the alleged killer of Charlie Kirk. Cruz compared Carr to a mob boss and said that though he likes Carr personally and works with him as FCC chair, his comments were “dangerous as hell.”
Carr and the two other FCC commissioners are expected to appear before the panel in November, although the exact date is being finalized and could slip later, the person said.
While some Republicans cheered Carr’s tough talk, others followed Cruz’s lead and said the federal government shouldn’t be trying to police free speech. Carr has defended his remarks as misconstrued, arguing they did not amount to a threat to the broadcast licenses of ABC affiliates or pending deals by related companies.
Cruz’s committee is also convening a separate hearing this month focusing on Biden-era censorship.
Notable
- Carr told Semafor earlier this year that he sees major social media companies, not the government, as the biggest threat to free expression in the US.