Overview

• Speaking on Air Force One, President Trump said networks that give him only bad publicity should “maybe” have their licenses revoked and said any decision would be up to FCC Chair Brendan Carr.
• Carr had warned broadcasters over Kimmel’s monologue, saying “we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” praised affiliates that dropped the program, and signaled further action by saying, “We’re not done yet.”
• Major ABC station groups Nexstar and Sinclair preempted Kimmel’s show, and ABC, owned by Disney, then suspended it indefinitely.
• Democratic senators on the Commerce Committee demanded documents and answers from Carr by Sept. 25, accusing the FCC of being used as a press censor, while House Democratic leaders called for his resignation.
• The FCC licenses local stations rather than national networks and states on its website that it is prohibited from censoring broadcast content and has a very limited role in overseeing programming.