Donald Trump’s pick to be FCC chairman Brendan Carr outlines his first goals

In response to accusations of anti-Republican bias from large tech firms like Google and Apple, Carr, the current top Republican on the FCC, has already pledged to dismantle the “censorship cartel,” guarantee broadcasters act in the public interest, and stop the agency’s promotion of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI).

Carr was earlier nominated by Trump in 2017 to serve as an FCC commissioner. During the 2024 election, Carr has backed some of the president-elect’s criticisms of news organizations and television networks, such as implying that NBC might lose its license for allowing Vice President Kamala Harris to appear on Saturday Night Live shortly before Election Day without giving Trump the same amount of time.

Carr will carry out Trump’s and tech entrepreneur Elon Musk’s “personal vendettas” as FCC head, according to liberal advocacy organization Free Press Action. Carr is an outspoken advocate of Musk, the billionaire Trump appointed to lead the new Department of Government Efficiency. Musk’s Starlink satellites will be allowed to orbit closer to Earth when the FCC makes a decision.

“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for free speech and has fought against the regulatory lawfare that has stifled Americans’ freedoms and held back our economy,” Trump said. “He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s job creators and innovators and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”

Carr has listed some of the issues the FCC would prioritize under his direction in a number of remarks and tweets on X, previously Twitter.

“Broadcast media have had the privilege of using a scarce and valuable public resource—our airwaves,” Carr wrote. “They must, in turn, act in the public interest as mandated by law. The FCC will enforce this public interest duty when the transition is finished.

Carr shared an image allegedly showing the FCC’s most current budget, which listed DEI as its second priority, and said that the agency would no longer see the initiative as a critical strategy.

“Promoting DEI was listed as the FCC’s second-highest strategic aim in its most recent budget proposal. “The FCC will stop promoting DEI starting next year,” Carr said.

Republicans have attacked DEI, which attempts to rectify disparities among historically underrepresented groups in government, industry, and educational institutions. DEI programs are criticized for being racially divisive. “DEI” has been appropriated as a racist insult, according to its supporters.

Bipartisan criticism was directed at several GOP members who claimed that Harris, who is Asian and Black, was a “DEI hire” when she was selected to head the Democratic Party’s 2024 ticket.

Carr demanded information about the “unprecedented surge” in censorship in a letter he sent to the CEOs of the four biggest tech companies—Apple’s Tim Cook, Microsoft’s Satya Nadella, Mark Zuckerberg of Meta, and Sundar Pichai of Alphabet and its subsidiary Google—prior to his nomination as FCC chair.

“Reports from the media, congressional investigations, and other sources demonstrate that you often did not act alone. Instead, you were part of a censorship cartel that encompassed the Biden-Harris Administration itself, as well as advertising, marketing, and so-called ‘fact-checking’ groups, in addition to technology and social media firms,” Carr said.

“This censorship cartel has to be totally dissolved because it is an insult to Americans’ fundamental liberties. The freedom of free expression must be restored for Americans. Indeed, freedom of speech is essential to our democracy.

Following his selection as the head of the FCC, Carr wrote on X: “We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.”

Over the years, the GOP has also used accusations of anti-conservative prejudice and internet censorship of Republican voices as talking points, which has led to congressional inquiries.

In response to accusations that Google only showed “bad stories” about him, Trump said in September that if he won the election, he would pursue Google’s prosecution.

In the past, Trump has also said that NBC and CNN need to have “their licenses taken away” for failing to broadcast his victory speech during the Iowa caucuses in early 2024.

Carr’s selection as the FCC chair was challenged by Craig Aaron, co-CEO of the internet advocacy organization Free Press Action.

“Carr doesn’t care about protecting the public interest; he got this job because he will carry out Trump and Elon Musk’s personal vendettas,” Aaron stated in a press release.

Carr, who positioned himself as an advocate for free speech, remained silent when Trump threatened to revoke TV stations’ broadcast licenses for daring to challenge his claims during the campaign. This should disqualify you on its own.

“Humbled and honored” to be the chairman of the FCC, Carr wrote on X. He went on, “Now we get to work,”