“And it might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”

Columbia's Alex Abdo said Brendan Carr of the FCC is close to “the definition of unconstitutional coercion" while Chuck Schumer called his rhetoric "despicable."

But it is unclear to what extent media companies might push back - at the potential expense of their bottom line.