Must See: Jibbering Dem Sen Plunges Into Sheer Panic as FCC Chair Brendan Carr Produces Letter Senator Once Wrote and Is Desperate to Keep Quiet
Talk about a Hollywood moment during a congressional hearing.
It happened Wednesday when Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr left Democratic Sen. Ed Markey of Massachusetts stammering and trying to cover up his own hypocrisy.
Markey spent several minutes during the Senate Commerce Committee hearing trying to build the case that Carr has been using his position as FCC chairman to censor speech that is critical of the Trump administration or conservatives.
His questioning focused on the public interest standard, which Carr had referenced in September in the aftermath of Charlie Kirk’s assassination, when ABC late-night show host Jimmy Kimmel falsely stated that the shooter was “MAGA.”
However, government officials had made clear days before that the assassin appeared motivated by left-wing ideology and targeted Kirk because of his traditional Christian conservative views.
Under federal law, broadcast networks (ABC, NBC, CBS) are to operate in the “public interest, convenience and necessity,” ABC News reported. Cable news networks, such as Fox News or CNN, are not subject to that law.
Carr said during the controversy on conservative Benny Johnson’s podcast in September that ABC should discipline Kimmel in some way. He suggested an on-air apology from the host would be a “very reasonable, minimal step,” but also floated the idea of a suspension and called on ABC affiliate stations to push back against the Disney-owned company.
ABC briefly suspended Kimmel following his remarks after affiliate station owners Sinclair and Nexstar preempted his show.
During Thursday’s hearing, Markey said, “Chairman Carr, you are not reinvigorating the public interest standard, you are weaponizing the public interest standard.”
The senator quoted Carr, saying during his Johnson interview, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct or take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
“Do you regret making that statement?” Markey asked.
“My job is to enforce the law as passed by Congress that includes a public interest standard. Broadcast TV is fundamentally different than any other media,” Carr answered.
“Your position is that your mafia threats had nothing to do with Nexstar, Sinclair, and Disney’s decisions to preempt and suspend Kimmel?” Markey responded.
Carr replied that based on public statements, these companies “made these business decisions on their own. The record is clear on this.”
Markey retorted, “You’re the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Actually, now, you’re the chairman of the federal censorship commission.”
But the senator’s heated rhetoric was leaving his flank wide open for the blow Carr was about to land.
Markey cited one other example of alleged censorship by Carr, pointing to San Francisco AM radio station KCBS, where a news anchor was allegedly demoted for reporting in January on the colors and makes of unmarked vehicles Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers were using during operations in the city.
Carr responded to the incident by invoking the public interest standard and opened an investigation into the matter in February, the Associated Press reported.
“An FCC investigation is a big deal for a local station. In a worst-case scenario, the FCC could shut down a station by revoking its license,” Markey said. “In fact, you have repeatedly suggested over the past year that the FCC could revoke station licenses.”
Carr noted that the FCC’s concern regarding KCBS was that its reporting was interfering with lawful ICE operations, “and so we were asking questions about what happened.” He pointed out that ICE agents were being attacked and their undercover locations revealed at the time.
“Well, guess what happened?” Markey continued. “The station demoted the anchor who first read that news report over the air and pulled back on its political coverage. You got what you wanted.”
He argued, “This is government censorship, plain and simple.”
Now came the knockout blow from Carr that exposed Markey as a complete hypocrite.
The FCC chairman held up a piece of paper and said, “In 2018, you signed this letter right here to the FCC asking us to investigate Sinclair’s news activities. You said, ‘Investigate Sinclair’s news activities.’”
“You know what happened after that? Over 227 licenses were up for renewal or due during the Biden years; almost none of them were renewed after your letter. Your letter produced the results you were seeking,” Carr asserted.
Senator Markey led Democrat efforts to censor conservatives. Now, he’s engaged in nothing more than projection and distortion.
On my watch, the FCC is holding broadcasters accountable to their public interest obligations. pic.twitter.com/2vQpwOcHmG
— Brendan Carr (@BrendanCarrFCC) December 18, 2025
As soon as Carr held up the letter and referenced the year, Markey began trying to talk loudly over the FCC commissioner with a bunch of jibberish, but to no avail. The FCC chairman’s words could be heard.
Let’s see: On the censorship scale, one local station investigated, but no government action was taken, versus Markey calling for the targeting of an entire broadcast group with stations all over the country.
The senator tried to regroup, but he had already run over his allotted time, so the Commerce Committee chair shut him down.
Score one for Carr.
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