WASHINGTON ― A growing number of Republicans are speaking out against Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr and his comments threatening to take action against Disney’s ABC last week, following the assassination of right-wing activist Charlie Kirk.
Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), appearing Sunday on NBC’s “Meet the Press,” called Carr’s threats “absolutely inappropriate.”
“If you’re losing money, you can be fired,” Paul said. “But the government’s got no business in it. And the FCC was wrong to weigh in. And I’ll fight any attempt by the government to get involved with speech.”
Carr threatened to revoke broadcasting licenses from ABC after late-night TV host Jimmy Kimmel made remarks about Kirk’s death that incensed Republicans and other prominent figures on the right. Just hours after Carr’s remarks, ABC pulled Kimmel’s show “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely from the airwaves.
“I mean, look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said on a podcast last week. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
