President-elect Trump announced on Sunday that he has selected Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) starting in January.
Carr, who is currently the top Republican member of the FCC, was first nominated to the commission by Trump in 2017. In a statement released Sunday evening, Trump praised Carr and noted that he had been “unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate. time.”
“His current term runs until 2029 and because of his great work, I will now appoint him as permanent chairman,” Trump wrote.
The Republican leader then called Carr “a free speech fighter” who “has fought against legislative regulations that have suppressed Americans’ freedoms and held back our economy.”
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Trump praised the “great work” of Brendan Carr in a statement on Sunday evening. (Getty Images)
“He will end the regulatory onslaught that has crippled America’s job creators and innovators and ensure the FCC delivers results for rural America,” Trump added.
“Congratulations to Chairman Brendan Carr for a job well done,” the president-elect concluded. “Lead us to a great future, Brendan!”
In an X post on Sunday, Carr thanked Trump and wrote that he is “humbled and honored to serve as chairman of the FCC.”
Carr recently made national headlines after ripping the cast of “Saturday Night Live” for bringing Kamala Harris on stage as a guest without inviting Trump, which violates FCC rules.
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Federal Communications Commission Commissioner Brendan Carr speaks during the 2024 Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) in National Harbor, Maryland, United States on February 24, 2024. (Celal Gunes/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“NBC has structured this in a way that is clearly intended to circumvent FCC rules,” the official said shortly after the episode aired. “We’re talking 50 hours before Election Day starts, without any notice to other candidates, as far as I know.”
Carr later told Fox News Digital that Harris’ actions “made it clear that (‘SNL’) wanted to weigh in favor of one candidate before the election.”
“That’s exactly why we’ve had an equal time rule for decades, to prevent that from happening,” the Republican explained. “Because remember, broadcasters are placed in a special position of trust. They are not just someone with a soapbox on the corner. They have a license from the federal government that requires them to operate in the public interest.”
Brendan Carr, Commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), speaks during a hearing of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation in Washington, DC, USA, on Wednesday, June 24, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Earlier in November, the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP) urged Trump to nominate Carr as the next FCC chairman, calling him a “great partner to the men and women of law enforcement.”
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“Commissioner Carr has more than two decades of private and public sector expertise in communications and technology policy, as well as deep institutional knowledge of the FCC,” Patrick Yoes, FOP national chairman, wrote in a letter. “He would make an excellent FCC chairman who will ensure that the United States continues to lead the world in telecommunications advancements and innovations.”
Emma Colton and Eric Revell of Fox News Digital contributed to this report.
