WASHINGTON (AP) — Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr will face Senate questioning Wednesday for the first time since he pressured broadcasters to take ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air, a stance that drew bipartisan criticism and raised concerns about government interference in the media.
Carr will appear before the Senate Commerce committee for an oversight hearing that will also include the FCC’s two other commissioners, Olivia Trusty and Anna M. Gomez. It will be the first Senate Commerce oversight hearing with all FCC commissioners since 2020, though there are two vacancies on the five-member panel.
Since being tapped by President Donald Trump last November to lead the nation’s top broadcast regulator, Carr has closely aligned with the administration’s aggressive posture toward media outlets it views as hostile. He has launched FCC investigations into ABC, CBS and NBC News, in addition to some local stations.
Trump in his second term has sued The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and, most recently, the BBC. And at Trump's urging, Congress this summer approved eliminating $1.1 billion allocated to public broadcasting.
Earlier this year, Carr came under fire from lawmakers in both parties after he denounced Kimmel’s comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. He called Kimmel's remarks “truly sick” and warned broadcasters, “We can do this the easy way or the hard way.” Hours later, ABC announced Kimmel had been suspended indefinitely.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, who scheduled the hearing last month, was among the Republicans who criticized Carr’s remarks at the time.
“I think it is unbelievably dangerous for government to put itself in the position of saying we’re going to decide what speech we like and what we don’t, and we’re going to threaten to take you off air if we don’t like what you’re saying,” Cruz said on his podcast, calling Carr’s comments “dangerous as hell.”
The hearing comes as Carr faces additional scrutiny from Democrats over media consolidation. Democratic Sen. Jacky Rosen, a member of the committee, joined other Democrats this week in urging Carr to closely examine Nexstar Media Group’s proposed acquisition of rival broadcaster Tegna.
In a letter sent Tuesday, the lawmakers warned the deal would further concentrate media power in the U.S. local television market.
“Regulatory approval of the conglomerate would likely raise prices for consumers, accelerate job losses, and weaken the independence and news coverage of local TV stations,” they wrote.
The transaction would require the FCC to loosen rules limiting how many stations a single company may own. Carr has said he is open to changing those ownership limits. Nexstar was one of two ABC affiliate owners that said they would preempt Kimmel’s show with local programming following his comments about Kirk.
Kimmel's suspension came after his monologue included a reference to Kirk’s shooting and compared Trump’s grief to “how a 4-year-old mourns a goldfish.” The show returned to air less than a week after the indefinite suspension was announced.
FILE - President-elect Donald Trump talks with Brendan Carr before the launch of the sixth test flight of the SpaceX Starship rocket Tuesday, Nov. 19, 2024 in Boca Chica, Texas. (Brandon Bell/Pool via AP, File)
FILE - Federal Communications Commission chairman Brendan Carr speaks during the Concordia Annual Summit in New York, Sept. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Andres Kudacki, File)
NORMAN, Okla. (AP) — Raegan Beers had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and No. 4 seed Oklahoma overwhelmed No. 13 seed Idaho 89-59 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament on Friday night.
Beers, a senior center, also had four assists and four blocks. Sahara Williams had 17 points and 10 rebounds, Aaliyah Chavez scored 15 points and Payton Verhulst added 14 for the Sooners (25-7), who stopped Idaho's win streak at 18 games. The Vandals hadn’t lost since Jan. 10.
The Sooners pushed the tempo early and were intentional about being balanced. Eventually, they wore the Vandals down.
“I think we’re setting the tone for how we want to play going on into March,” Williams said.
Oklahoma will play No. 5 seed Michigan State in the second round on Sunday. The Spartans outlasted No. 12 Colorado State 65-62 in the early game on Friday.
Kyra Gardner scored 19 points and Hope Hassmann added 12 for Idaho (29-6). The Vandals shot 24.7% from the field and made just 10 of 46 3-pointers.
Oklahoma played one of its most efficient offensive halves of the season to go up 57-35 at the break. The Sooners shot 59.5% from the field and committed just four turnovers. Williams had 13 points and Verhulst had 12 at the break.
The Sooners opened the second half on an 8-1 run, including six points from Beers, to go up 65-36.
Williams drained a shot from beyond halfcourt at the end of the third quarter, but she released it just a bit too late to count. The Sooners took a 76-38 lead into the fourth.
The Sooners created positive energy and the home crowd added more.
“When we have fun, I wouldn’t say a win is guaranteed, but we play a lot better when we have fun and have a smile on our face and we rebound and we score and we assist the ball,” Williams said.
Idaho coach Arthur Moreira said there might be more smiling ahead for the Sooners.
“They’re just a complete team,” he said. “I think they’re equipped to make a big run here. As I was scouting them, it was fun to watch.”
Chavez had five assists and no turnovers, shot a solid 6 for 14 from the field and had six rebounds in her first taste of March Madness.
Strangely, she missed her first two free throws before making two later. She made 70 of 72 free throws during Southeastern Conference play and entered the night shooting 94% from the line overall this season.
Oklahoma made 15 of 21 layups while Idaho made 4 of 19.
Beers was a significant factor in both of those stats. She made five of her six layups and was a pest around the rim defensively. She was a key reason Idaho made just 10 of 35 shots inside the 3-point line.
The women's team made the 30-minute trip to Oklahoma City on Thursday to watch the Idaho men play Houston.
Many of the fans that watched that 78-47 loss showed up in Norman on Friday.
“Just to be in the Idaho section was so cool,” Hassmann said. “And then also to see those fans travel here today — kind of had our own Idaho section, which was super cool to hear them cheer for us and our band and cheerleaders.”
AP March Madness bracket: https://apnews.com/hub/ncaa-womens-bracket and coverage: https://apnews.com/hub/march-madness
Idaho guard Katlin Kangur (14) goes up to shoot beside Oklahoma guard Aaliyah Chavez (2) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
Oklahoma center Raegan Beers (15) blocks a shot by Idaho guard Ana Pinheiro (37) during the first half in the first round of the NCAA college basketball tournament, Friday, March 20, 2026, Norman, Okla. (AP Photo/Alonzo Adams)
