FCC chair invites bipartisan backlash as MAGA battle with press intensifies

FCC chair Brendan Carr’s threat to crack down on broadcasters over coverage of the U.S. war in Iran is raising fresh alarm about Trump administration efforts to intimidate or influence the media.

In a Saturday post that was not targeted toward a specific outlet, Carr suggested news broadcasters could have problems renewing their licenses because of their coverage of the war.

“Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions – also known as the fake news – have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote in his social media post. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”  

The post came as President Trump, Defense Sec. Pete Hegseth and other officials have increasingly stepped up their criticism of media outlets over their coverage of Iran. CNN, The Wall Street Journal and ABC News were all criticized by voices within the administration of intentionally focusing on aspects of the war that is not going well for the administration.  

At the FCC, Carr oversees a department that holds licensing jurisdiction over local broadcast stations, most of which are affiliates of CBS, ABC and NBC, which they rely on for national news coverage.  

The FCC’s “public interest” statue, a provision the FCC chair frequently cites as he warns media outlets about coverage that is critical of Trump, does not apply to cable news channels, streaming services or social media platforms where millions of Americans have been getting information about the war effort.  

“Changing course,” Carr said of mainstream news outlets, “is in their own business interests,” citing declining viewership figures across television and polls showing trust in media plummeting in recent years.  

“The American people have subsidized broadcasters to the tune of billions of dollars by providing free access to the nation’s airwaves,” the chairman continued. “When a political candidate is able to win a landslide election victory after in the face of hoaxes and distortions, there is something very wrong. It means the public has lost faith and confidence in the media. And we can’t allow that to happen. Time for change!”  

Carr’s comments sparked instant backlash from Democrats, First Amendment advocates and some elected Republicans who argued the head of the FCC was taking an inappropriate step by weighing into the editorial decision of broadcast networks.  

“I am a big supporter of the First Amendment,” Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wisc.) said on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing” when asked about Carr’s comments.  “I do not like the heavy-handed government, no matter who is wielding it. … I would rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.” 

Other Republicans, like former Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-Ga.), argued comments like Carr’s could set a dangerous precedent for future dynamics between presidential administrations and independent media.   

“It’s the responsibility of journalists and media companies to get the truth out to the American people and I never want to see the government take control or try to take that away,” Greene said during an interview Monday on CNN. “Americans are fed a lot of propaganda depending on the political views of the media platform. That’s wrong. No government, whether Republican or Democrat, should ever put a lid or any type of threatening enforcement on media companies as they try to get the truth out.”  

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) on Monday sent a letter to Carr’s office demanding he resign over the post, which he said “demonstrated your continued effort to turn the FCC into Trump’s personal speech police.”

Ann Gomez, a Democratic FCC commissioner, blasted Carr, who she said in a statement “pretends it has the power to control news coverage.” 

Trump and his allies have sparred with mainstream media outlets routinely during his first term, but since the war started two weeks ago, observers have noted an uptick in the frequency and intensity of such attacks.  

“They’re having trouble fighting a war against the Iranians and it seems like they think they might have better luck fighting against the press instead,” said Matt Gertz, a senior follow at the left-leaning watchdog Media Matters for America. “It obviously creates a chilling effect. Any broadcaster now has to question if anything they put out could end up getting them in a heap of legal trouble with the FCC.”  

Carr’s statement came in response to a Truth Social post in which the president complained about a “fake news headlines” about strikes against U.S. oil tanker planes that were reportedly struck at an airport in Saudi Arabia.  

Trump called out the New York Times and Wall Street Journal specifically over their coverage of the strikes saying those new organizations “actually want us to lose the war.”  

Carr has no jurisdiction over print media and streaming but many see his latest attack as evidence of the administration’s continued vexation with the way the war is being portrayed to the American people and a failure to control the narrative around it.  

“What seems to be frustrating the White House is they’re completely dominating Iran, yet the focus and concentration has been on the weak spots for the U.S. military,” one Republican political operative told The Hill on Monday. “So, they’re pretty clearly trying to put their thumb on the scale to try and increase positive coverage. The danger in that is when there’s a Democrat in office, they’re going to feel there’s a precedent there. And it’s hard to complain someone is doing this to you when you just got done doing it to them.”  

Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

More Administration News

Trump allies plan Senate floor takeover to pass SAVE America Act

Trump reveals story about GOP lawmaker Neal Dunn’s health

Appeals court allows Trump to swiftly deport migrants to third countries 

Trump to Kennedy Center board ahead of vote on 2-year shutdown: ‘You have to ...

‘Lobstergate’ shows just how far our media have sunk

Senate Republican rebukes Carr’s threats to revoke broadcast licenses over ...

Susie Wiles diagnosed with early-stage breast cancer, Trump says

Khamenei had reservations about son, says US intelligence: Report

Live updates: Trump says US attacks are ‘aggressively dismantling’ Iran’s ...

Jeffries seeks to force vote on DHS funding without ICE and CBP

The return-to-the-office trend backfires

It’s all about China: Trump’s seemingly chaotic global policy all makes ...

If you’re worried about a fair midterm vote, you should be

Greene sides with Megyn Kelly in Iran fight with Trump, Mark Levin

Germany’s defense minister rebuffs Trump’s Strait of Hormuz ...

Jimmy Kimmel takes swipe at ‘Melania’ documentary at Oscars

3,000 flights canceled as eastern US braces for high winds, tornadoes

Schumer says SAVE America Act among ‘most despicable’ bills he’s ever seen

© The Hill