A controversy arose when Carr, the FCC chairman, called for action against Jimmy Kimmel after the late-night host joked about Trump’s mourning of Charlie Kirk and appeared to falsely suggest the right-wing influencer’s killer was a Trump supporter.
On Wednesday, in a podcast hosted by Benny Johnson, a long-time collaborator with Kirk’s Turning Point organisation, Carr said there were “remedies” the FCC could explore.
“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”
Within hours, Nexstar and Sinclair, two companies that own dozens of local stations across the country affiliated with the ABC network, said they would stop airing Kimmel’s programme.
ABC later confirmed that Kimmel’s program would be suspended indefinitely.
Gomez, the FCC’s sole Democratic-affiliated commissioner, issued a statement criticising administration pressure and accusing ABC of “cowardly corporate capitulation”.
“We cannot allow an inexcusable act of political violence to be twisted into a justification for government censorship and control,” she said.
“This FCC does not have the authority, the ability, or the constitutional right to police content or punish broadcasters for speech the government dislikes.”