FCC Chair Says He’s Not the ‘Speech Police’ While Defending Broadcast Probes

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr pushed back on accusations the agency is policing political speech while defending its ongoing investigations into major broadcast networks during a Politico interview released Friday.

Speaking with Politico’s Dasha Burns on The Conversation podcast, Carr rejected the idea that the FCC is targeting media organizations because of President Donald Trump’s repeated attacks on the press.

“I don’t view the FCC as the speech police,” Carr said.

Instead, he argued, “we should be appropriately applying and enforcing the laws that Congress passed.”

Carr has drawn major criticism over the FCC’s investigations, enforcement actions, and license reviews involving outlets including NBC, ABC, and CBS.

Critics from both parties have argued the moves risk turning the agency into a political weapon against broadcasters perceived as hostile to Trump. On Thursday, ABC went further, filing a complaint accusing the FCC of “attempted censorship.”

Yet Carr claimed the FCC has actually backed away from its responsibilities in recent decades, pointing to declining trust in the news.

“Fifteen percent of people would eat gas station sushi. Only 8 percent of people say they have a great deal of trust” in the media, he joked.

Burns made sure to note Carr’s visible support for the president, pointing out that he drinks from a mug depicting himself as a pit bull on Trump’s leash.

Carr went on to defend Trump’s rhetoric when pressed on whether there should be any limits on his ability to influence FCC investigations into broadcasters he criticizes, saying, “The president has every right in the world, including a First Amendment right, to express his views, to push back on media.”

He admitted, though, “Look, there’s no question that I’m broadly aligned with President Trump,” adding, “My view is not to take the gavel and weaponize it. But my view is also not to take the gavel and bury it in the sand.”

Watch the full clip above via @POLITICO on YouTube.

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