Republican Senator Knocks Trump’s FCC Boss for Threatening to Revoke Broadcast Licenses

Republican Sen. Ron Johnson on Sunday voiced opposition to Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr’s weekend threat to withdraw broadcast licenses over unfavorable coverage of the Iran war.

“I am a big supporter of the First Amendment,” Johnson said on Fox News’ “The Sunday Briefing.” “I do not like the heavy hand of the government no matter who is wielding it.”

Carr had posted to X on Saturday, saying that “fake news” must “correct course before their license renewals come up.” The apparent threat was a response to a Truth Social post from President Donald Trump condemning the New York Times, The Wall Street Journal and “other lowlife ‘papers’ and media” for their “intentionally misleading” headlines and “terrible reporting” on the U.S. and Israel’s war with Iran.

Trump specifically criticized The Wall Street Journal’s coverage on Friday of an incident that saw five U.S. Air Force refueling tankers damaged in an Iranian missile strike at Prince Sultan Air Base.

“In actuality, the Base was hit a few days ago, but the planes were not ‘struck’ or ‘destroyed,’” Trump argued in his post. “Four of the five had virtually no damage, and are already back in service. One had slightly more damage, but will be in the air shortly. None were destroyed, or close to that, as the Fake News said in headlines.”

Reposting Trump’s Truth Social post on X hours later, Carr said it is “time for change.”

“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 said in a lengthy post. “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not.”

This isn’t the first time Carr has threatened to go after broadcast licenses for coverage critical of the Trump administration. In September, after Carr threatened the network, ABC temporarily suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show for insinuating the individual who killed Charlie Kirk last year may have been a conservative.

Johnson on Sunday told Fox he would “ rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.”

“The federal government’s role is to protect our freedoms,” he said. “To protect our Constitutional rights.”