WASHINGTON — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr told senators Wednesday that the FCC is “not an independent agency,” and staff stripped the word “independent” from the regulator’s website while the hearing was still underway. The real-time change — and Carr’s refusal to clearly say whether he takes direction from President Donald Trump — sharpened Democratic warnings that the FCC’s licensing and enforcement power is being pulled into partisan fights, Dec. 17, 2025.
Brendan Carr’s Senate clash over the FCC’s “independence” language
Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., pressed Brendan Carr for a yes-or-no answer and cited the agency’s own description as an “independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress.” Carr replied that the FCC is “not an independent agency, formally speaking.” Reuters reported the “independent” wording disappeared from the FCC’s mission statement minutes later.
An FCC spokesperson said the site and agency materials were being updated to reflect “new leadership,” according to The Washington Post. Democratic Commissioner Anna M. Gomez said Congress designed the FCC to operate as a multiparty, independent regulator accountable to lawmakers, not the White House.
After the hearing, Luján’s office said Carr’s testimony contradicted earlier statements describing the commission as an independent, expert agency and argued the website edit was meant to match Carr’s new position.
Brendan Carr faces renewed heat over the Jimmy Kimmel dispute
The 2 1/2-hour hearing also revisited Carr’s September comments after Jimmy Kimmel referenced the killing of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Democrats accused Carr of making “mafia-style” threats to broadcasters and of “weaponizing” the FCC’s public interest standard, with Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., telling Carr he should resign, The Associated Press reported.
Brendan Carr has argued broadcast TV is regulated differently than cable and social media, and he defended his role as enforcing a public interest obligation that he says the FCC has neglected. The Verge reported Carr would not express regret and disputed that his remarks were meant as a threat, even as Democrats warned his posture could chill speech.
How the Brendan Carr-Kimmel episode built over time
The fight has been building since September, when NPR’s reporting tracked late-night hosts warning about free speech after ABC pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” off the air under political pressure. Nieman Journalism Lab traced how the FCC’s leverage over station licenses and merger approvals can turn “public interest” debates into corporate pressure points. Even some Republicans criticized Carr’s intervention; The Guardian reported Sen. Rand Paul called the FCC chair’s involvement “absolutely inappropriate.”
In Wednesday’s hearing, Democrats framed the independence dispute as a test of whether Brendan Carr will run the FCC as an expert regulator or a political arm. Carr said he is aligned with Trump on policy, setting up more oversight clashes as the commission weighs upcoming broadcast and media decisions.
