"Assault on the First Amendment": Dem. FCC Commissioner on Megamergers & Trump Targeting Kimmel, ABC
As President Trump continues to attack media organizations and journalists, a sitting Democratic member of the Federal Communications Commission discusses how the administration has weaponized the FCC to go after critics in the media, including a review of ABC television licenses following Trump's attacks on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
As President Trump continues to attack media organizations and journalists, we speak with a sitting member of the Federal Communications Commission about how the administration has weaponized the FCC to go after his perceived enemies in the media. Anna Gomez is the sole Democratic commissioner on the FCC, which is currently operating with just three commissioners instead of the usual five. She criticizes the agency's recently announced review of ABC television licenses, which comes after President Trump called for the firing of ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Under Chair Brendan Carr, the FCC has repeatedly gone after critics of the president by threatening to revoke valuable broadcast licenses.
"This administration is using any point of leverage that it has to go after its critics," says Gomez, who was appointed by President Joe Biden in 2023.
Gomez also discusses how media consolidation impacts public choice, including the pending merger between Paramount Skydance and Warner Bros. Discovery, which would bring an unprecedented number of properties under the ownership of the Trump-aligned Ellison family.