FCC chief denies White House pressure in Disney ABC license review

The Federal Communications Commission chief rejected suggestions that the White House pushed the agency to fast-track a license review of Disney’s ABC stations, insisting the decision was made inside the FCC as the political stakes around Donald Trump and Jimmy Kimmel grew sharper.

FCC Chair Brendan Carr said, “This is a decision that we made inside this building,” and added, “There was no pressure from the outside. ... There was no call for agency action from the outside.” The review came just a day after Trump urged ABC to fire Kimmel, making the timing hard to separate from the broader clash over late-night politics and media criticism. Carr said the agency was looking at Disney’s diversity practices rather than network content and argued, “The FCC should not operate as the speech police.”

The FCC’s April 28 order directed Disney’s eight ABC-owned stations to file renewal applications within 30 days, by May 28, 2026, years ahead of their original renewal dates, which ran from 2028 to 2031. The stations named in the order were KFSN-TV in Fresno, KABC-TV in Los Angeles, KGO-TV in San Francisco, WLS-TV in Chicago, WABC-TV in New York, WTVD in Durham, North Carolina, WPVI-TV in Philadelphia and KTRK-TV in Houston. The order said the agency was investigating possible violations of the Communications Act of 1934 and FCC rules, including the prohibition on unlawful discrimination. FCC records show the action was issued by David J. Brown, chief of the Media Bureau’s Video Division.

The unusual timing has raised the independence test that always shadows federal regulators: whether the agency is acting on evidence or responding to political heat. Carr said the underlying inquiry into Disney’s DEI policies began in March 2025 and that Disney had already answered two FCC Letters of Inquiry before the bureau ordered early renewal. He also said he planned to open another early review and declined to say whether Comcast and NBC could face similar treatment.

Anna Gomez, the FCC’s lone Democratic commissioner, called the move “the most egregious action this FCC has taken in violation of the First Amendment to date,” and said the White House had publicly called for silencing a critic while the FCC answered that call. Gomez said the licenses cannot be revoked without a lengthy process that can be appealed to the full commission and challenged in federal court, and she described the action as “unprecedented and politically motivated.”

Disney said its ABC stations have a long record of compliance, local service, trusted news, emergency information and public-interest programming, and said it was prepared to defend its qualifications through the proper legal channels. For broadcasters, the precedent may matter as much as the immediate dispute: an early review tied to politically charged coverage could signal a broader willingness to scrutinize station owners long before the normal eight-year renewal cycle reaches its end.