Q&A: Anna Gomez is the sole Democrat on the FCC. She has a warning for big media companies

WASHINGTON (AP) — Anna Gomez wakes up every morning and checks her phone to see if President Donald Trump has fired her yet.

For now, she remains the sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, where she's on an increasingly urgent mission to press media companies to more forcefully combat an administration she says is cracking down on free speech.

Her immediate focus is Disney, the parent of ABC. It is the subject of investigations launched by the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally.

In an extraordinary four-page letter earlier this month to Disney CEO Josh D'Amaro, Gomez outlined what she described as the FCC's “sustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control” against the company. She noted probes touching on everything from diversity practices to ABC's moderation of a 2024 presidential debate and the guests booked on “The View” along with the administration's calls for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.

She's particularly worried that the FCC's move for early reviews of ABC's broadcast licenses in the markets where it owns local stations is an effort to intimidate the network. She called it “the most egregious assault on the First Amendment this FCC has taken to date.”

Her message was simple: Fight back. She argued that Disney's controversial decision to pay a $15 million defamation settlement shortly before Trump returned to office did the company little good and set a bad precedent for the rest of the industry

“That settlement did not buy you peace,” she wrote in the letter, which she also posted to social media. “It only bought you time.”

D'Amaro hasn't publicly responded to Gomez. But he has signaled a new approach in a filing this month, accusing the FCC of taking actions that could “chill critical protected speech.”

In an interview from her Washington office, Gomez said she was heartened by Disney's response and encouraged other broadcasters to prepare for similar fights. She's an exceedingly rare figure in the nation's capital, one of just a few Democrats who have held onto their seats at federal agencies after Trump fired most of them in a bid to bend the bureaucracy to his will.

The Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of Trump's moves and could issue a decision in the coming weeks.

While that plays out, Gomez's term is slated to end June 30. But unless Trump fires her, she's likely to remain at the agency, where her presence allows for a quorum that gives Carr the opportunity to keep enacting his agenda. Given the Senate's narrow divide and dwindling calendar ahead of the midterms, it would be hard for Trump to muscle through a replacement.

Here are highlights of the interview, edited for length and clarity.

AP: What prompted you to write the letter to Disney?

GOMEZ: At the beginning of this administration, I was growing increasingly alarmed by what I saw as this administration’s campaign to control and censor speech. And so I embarked on a tour across the country where I was talking to journalists, local broadcasters, legal scholars, press freedom advocates. And what I came back with was more of a conviction that we really needed to do something.

Then I started watching the capitulation. We saw CBS settle its lawsuit with the president and then agree to terms that basically require an ombudsperson to oversee the content of the network in order to get its transaction approved by the FCC. We saw ABC, of course, settle its lawsuit and I grew more and more and more concerned about the fact that this capitulation breeds capitulation.

And so I wrote the letter and the letter had two goals in mind. One was to basically put on the record and call out everything that this FCC has done to try to bring Disney to heel but also to encourage it and other broadcasters to stiffen their spine. We know, based on the record of this administration, every time it gets taken to court for these violations of the First Amendment and against the freedom of the press, it loses.

AP: Is your ultimate goal to get a court to rule against the FCC?

GOMEZ: In the end, what I want is for companies to push back because if this gets to court, any entity that challenges what this FCC is doing is going to win.

AP: The media landscape has changed so dramatically from when the FCC was founded. What is the government’s role in this space now?

GOMEZ: Traditionally, the FCC has licensed the local broadcast stations, and what we license is actually their spectrum, their airwaves over which they broadcast their television, their radio. And it has done so with three basic principles in mind. Competition, because competition’s always good for consumers and for viewers and for the market. Localism, which really means serving your local market, whether that means actually airing 24 hours a day the content, but truly local content. And finally, viewpoint diversity. We want to encourage more voices, not fewer.

And that is, I think, the right role for the FCC. Being a censor is not the right role for the FCC.

AP: You’ve been in and out of the FCC for decades. You’re a lawyer, some might even say a technocrat. When you look back at your career, did you think you would take such a vocal stand against the actions of the agency and ultimately an administration?

GOMEZ: No, never in my entire career did I think that I would be having to speak up this strongly for the First Amendment in our Constitution and our democracy.

As you said, I’m a bit of a technocrat. I’m used to talking about the airwaves and I’m used to talking about broadband and how important it is for everyone to have access to broadband. I'm used to talking about really boring things like how to attach to light poles. But media wasn’t something that I particularly thought I would have to really delve into. But, like I said, this administration has just been alarming me so much and so I’ve had to pivot.

AP: You and Chairman Carr have a cordial relationship even though you disagree quite intensely. Is there a secret you want to share with the rest of Washington on how to do that?

GOMEZ: You know, we do have a collegial relationship and we do work well together. He has been in my position and he understands my need to speak out and I do so freely, knowing that some day I may face the consequences for it. But we do work at maintaining a cordial relationship.

AP: You're talking about the potential of being fired by the president?

GOMEZ: Yes, especially when I saw last year when the administration was firing all the Democratic members of different independent commissions and bodies. I just checked my email every day. Literally every day I pick up my phone and I say, “Am I going to work today?” And so far, so good.

AP: Your term lasts through June 30 and you're needed for a quorum. Absent an email that you wake up to in the morning, what are your plans?

GOMEZ: I can continue serving for another year and a half-ish after my term expires as long as no one else is nominated and confirmed for my particular slot. So I intend to continue working and to continue speaking out as long as I can.

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez poses for a portrait in her office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez poses for a portrait in her office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez poses for a portrait in her office on Capitol Hill, Wednesday, May 20, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Rod Lamkey, Jr.)

PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Bob Boone, the catcher on the Philadelphia Phillies' first World Series championship team in 1980 who won seven Gold Gloves and was part of baseball's first three-generation family, has died. He was 78.

Boone's son, Bret, announced his father's death Tuesday on social media. The Phillies said in a statement Boone died Monday. No cause of death was announced.

“He was a man of great integrity. He was a great dad, husband, and patriarch. It was a privilege to call him my father. Baseball lost a great one today,” Bret Boone wrote.

Boone spent his first 10 seasons with the Phillies, played seven with the California Angels and two with the Kansas City Royals. He also managed the Royals and Cincinnati Reds.

“Bob was an incredible player, teammate and family man. He embodied everything we believe exemplary athletes should represent, both on and off the field,” the Phillies said in a statement. “We were proud to have him as part of the Phillies family during one of the most historic runs in team history. His impact on our organization, his teammates, and everyone who had the privilege of knowing him will never be forgotten.”

Boone's father, Ray, played 13 seasons in the majors and was a two-time All-Star with the Detroit Tigers. Bob Boone's two sons both enjoyed long baseball careers. Aaron Boone played 13 seasons in the majors and played for the Reds when Bob managed the team. Aaron now manages the New York Yankees. Bret Boone was a three-time All-Star over a 14-year career spent largely with the Seattle Mariners. A third son played in the minor leagues. Bret's son, Jake Boone, works in the New York Mets' front office after playing at Princeton and briefly in the minors.

“His legacy is profound, and we can see the values he embodied carried forward by his son, Aaron, in his leadership of the Yankees,” the Yankees wrote in a statement.

Bob Boone was a sixth-round draft pick as a third baseman out of Stanford in 1969. He was converted to catcher in the minor leagues and caught 1,095 games with Philadelphia, second on the Phillies’ all-time list to Red Dooin (1,124). Boone caught 2,225 games overall in 19 big league seasons.

“We played in the minors together where he gave up third base so I could play it, only to become one of the best catchers in baseball history,” Phillies Hall of Famer Mike Schmidt said. “Bob was a great father and husband. Our lives and careers were intertwined, we pursued our Christian faith together, worked out together, and became world champions together.”

He was the first Phillies catcher to win a Gold Glove (1978, 1979) and led the Phillies with a .412 batting average in their 1980 World Series win over the Kansas City Royals.

“Bob Boone was a quiet leader, both on and off the field,” said Larry Bowa, the shortstop on the 1980 team. “I had the privilege of playing alongside him for nearly my entire career, and without question, he was the backbone of our team.”

A native of San Diego, Boone made NL All-Star teams in 1976, 1978 and 1979. He set the record for career games caught by a catcher with 1,919 in Kansas City. He was 41 years old when he won his final Gold Glove with the Royals in 1989.

Ivan Rodriguez (2,427) and Carlton Fisk (2,226) have since passed Boone on the career games caught list.

“I grew up watching Bob with the great Phillies teams of the 70’s. His play and mastery of catching inspired me to want to play the position,” Hall of Fame catcher Mike Piazza posted on social media.

Boone caught the final out of the 1980 Game 6 clincher when Tug McGraw struck out Willie Wilson to win the World Series. Boone was involved in a more famous play earlier in that inning when he ran after Frank White's foul pop near the home dugout in Veterans Stadium. The ball bounced off Boone's mitt and straight into Pete Rose's glove for an out — a catch played on countless highlight reels through the decades in Philadelphia.

Boone was added to the Phillies' Wall of Fame in 2005.

Boone won four more Gold Gloves, made another All-Star team and twice led the Angels to the playoffs. He went 10 for 22 (.455) with a homer and two RBIs against Boston in the 1986 American League Championship Series.

“Our franchise leader in games caught, Boone’s leadership, exceptional defense and knowledge of the game made him an invaluable presence behind the plate and helped the Angels win two division titles,” the Angels said in a statement.

Boone went 371-444 overall as a manager, spending three seasons with the Royals and three with the Reds. He joined the Washington Nationals' front office in 2005.

Washington won the World Series in 2019, the first championship in franchise history. Boone resigned in 2021 rather than comply with the organization’s COVID-19 vaccine mandate.

See AP’s full MLB coverage here

FILE - Former Philadelphia Phillies' Bob Boone waves to the crowd before a baseball game against the New York Mets, Saturday, Aug. 12, 2017, in Philadelphia. (AP Photo/Matt Slocum, File)

FILE - Los Angeles Dodgers Steve Garvey, right, crashes into Philadelphia Phillies catcher Bob Boone as he touches home plate during the an NL playoff baseball game, Friday, Oct. 7, 1977, Philadelphia, Pa. (AP Photo/File)

FILE - Cincinnati Reds' Aaron Boone, left, and his brother, Bret, second from right, pose with their grandfather, Ray, second from left, and father, Bob, right, before the 74th Major League Baseball All-Star Game in Chicago, July 15, 2003. (AP Photo/Mark Duncan, File)

FILE - Former Philadelphia Phillies' Bob Boone watches during a Major League Baseball news conference on Independence Mall in Philadelphia, April 16, 2019. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)