WASHINGTON — A swirl of letters, demands for oversight hearings and proposed legislation in the face of Jimmy Kimmel’s temporary suspension has brought new scrutiny to the role of the Federal Communications Commission and its chairman.

ABC announced Monday that it would reinstate Kimmel’s show Tuesday night, after less than a week off the air, but concerns remained from Democrats and some Republicans that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr overstepped his authority in the matter.

The lone Democrat on the FCC, Anna Gomez, has been pointed in her criticism of Carr, while also calling on Congress to more directly clarify the public interest obligation imposed on broadcasters in return for their licenses.

Carr appeared last week on a conservative podcast in which he seemed to threaten ABC or its local affiliates with official retribution over Kimmel’s joke on Sept. 15 about Republican reaction to the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. That comment spurred calls from conservatives that he be taken off the air.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action ... on Kimmel or ... there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr said, noting that FCC licenses come with “an obligation to operate in the public interest.”

ABC quickly announced that Kimmel’s show was indefinitely suspended.

Free speech advocates, including prominent Republicans such as Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, publicly challenged Carr’s comments. Cruz on his podcast on Friday called the comments “dangerous as hell.”

“If the government gets in the business of saying ... ‘we don’t like what you, the media, have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives,” Cruz said.

In reaction to ABC reinstating Kimmel, Gomez said in a statement, “I want to thank Americans from across the ideological spectrum who spoke loudly and courageously against this blatant attempt to silence free speech. It will continue to be up to us as citizens to push back against this Administration’s growing campaign of censorship and control.”

In an interview earlier Monday, Gomez said, “This administration calls anything that it does not like to be against the public interest, and that the broadcasters have to, therefore, alter their practices to meet their public interest obligations.”

She said she has advocated for the FCC to initiate a rulemaking to define public interest, but she also sees a role for Congress in stopping “corporate capitulation.”

“Congress, similarly, could adopt legislation that defines specifically what the public interest is, as part of the FCC regulation of broadcast licenses,” she said.

Gomez said she believes Carr’s goal was always for ABC to take action on its own, as an FCC action based on a late night talk show joke wouldn’t hold up in court.

“They are self-censoring rather than standing up for their First Amendment rights. The process is the point,” she said. “There is no final outcome, because that would not survive judicial scrutiny.”

Other reaction

Carr had not commented on the Kimmel announcement as of Monday evening. At an appearance at the Concordia Annual Summit in New York earlier Monday, he downplayed the notion that ABC had acted in response to potential pressure from the FCC.

“Reporting has shown that (ABC owner) Disney itself reached out to Kimmel and had conversations with him, and it was a product of those conversations where Disney on its own made the business decision not to have him air for some period of time and we’ll see how that turns out,” Carr said.

All Senate Commerce Committee Democrats except John Fetterman, D-Pa., sent a letter Friday to request that Cruz call Carr to an oversight hearing.

The committee has not announced plans for an oversight hearing with Carr or other representatives of the FCC as of Monday.

Carr’s comments also drew criticism from Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., and Dave McCormick, R-Pa.

After ABC reinstated Kimmel, former Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said on X that Cruz “probably got it right” in comparing Carr’s comments to the Mafia movie “Goodfellas” and that “you don’t have to like what somebody says on TV to agree that the government shouldn’t be getting involved here.”

Some Republicans were not ready to side with Cruz and other critics, however.

Sen. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., defended Carr’s comments based on the lack of official FCC proceedings prior to ABC suspending Kimmel’s show.

“We’re talking about a private corporation making a decision,” Hawley said.

Other Democrats moved quickly with their own proposals in response to Carr’s statements.

Last week, Rep. Jasmine Crockett, D-Texas, introduced a bill aimed at clarifying that the FCC can’t regulate based on political viewpoints. In a statement announcing the measure, Crockett said the bill would make it clear the FCC can’t condition merger approvals on aligning with a president’s political views or compel companies it regulates to suppress particular views.

Crockett said the bill “will prevent the FCC from using its power to unlawfully censor voices or force media companies to align with a political agenda. That kind of overreach is a direct step toward authoritarianism. It is critical that we add these protections so Americans can freely express their opinions — without fear, without coercion, and regardless of politics.”

Additionally, Rep. Yassamin Ansari, D-Ariz., on Friday introduced a resolution to condemn “the use of regulatory agencies, including the Federal Communications Commission, and the threat or filing of lawsuits as tools to suppress, intimidate, or punish lawful speech critical of any political party” or the president.

Democrats have portrayed Carr’s threats against ABC, as well as comments Attorney General Pamela Bondi made about prosecuting hate speech, as part of a larger pattern.

Gomez connected the past week to the Trump administration’s treatment of universities and law firms it disagrees with, as well as public broadcasters.

“It is a continuing campaign of censorship and control completely in violation of the First Amendment and the Communications Act,” she said, referring to the 1934 federal law overseeing broadcasting.

There are currently two open seats on the commission, one for each party.

Heading into an election year, Gomez said she hopes the FCC can return to its “core job” and “stop these culture wars.”

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