President-elect Donald Trump said on Sunday he will select Project 2025 co-author Brendan Carr as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission.
Carr, a Republican who has worked at the FCC since 2012, vowed to “dismantle the censorship cartel” at Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft and “restore free speech” for Americans.
The FCC commissioner is the author of the FCC chapter of Project 2025, a right-wing agenda published by the Heritage Foundation that promotes dismantling federal agencies and replacing the federal workforce with Trump loyalists.
“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 wrote in a Truth Social post on Sunday. “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.”
The FCC is an independent agency that regulates TV and radio broadcasting, as well as internet service providers. If he becomes chairman, Carr has indicated he will punish news organizations that negatively cover Trump. Earlier this month, he slammed NBC over Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on “Saturday Night Live,” claiming it broke an FCC rule that required political candidates to be provided equal air time.
“The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct — a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election,” he wrote on X.
The media advocacy group Free Press said in a statement that Carr was wrong about the equal time rule, noting that networks “have no legal obligation to set aside broadcast time for opposing candidates, unless the candidates request it.”
Carr is also a vocal supporter of billionaire Elon Musk, accusing Democrats of over-regulating Musk’s Starlink satellite internet service. As chairman, Carr could steer billions in federal subsidies to Musk’s satellite internet business.
Help us Prepare for Trump’s Day One
Trump is busy getting ready for Day One of his presidency – but so is Truthout.
Trump has made it no secret that he is planning a demolition-style attack on both specific communities and democracy as a whole, beginning on his first day in office. With over 25 executive orders and directives queued up for January 20, he’s promised to “launch the largest deportation program in American history,” roll back anti-discrimination protections for transgender students, and implement a “drill, drill, drill” approach to ramp up oil and gas extraction.
Organizations like Truthout are also being threatened by legislation like HR 9495, the “nonprofit killer bill” that would allow the Treasury Secretary to declare any nonprofit a “terrorist-supporting organization” and strip its tax-exempt status without due process. Progressive media like Truthout that has courageously focused on reporting on Israel’s genocide in Gaza are in the bill’s crosshairs.
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