Luján Questioning Exposes that FCC is no Longer an Independent Agency

FCC Chairman Carr in Response to Senator Luján's Questioning: "The FCC is not an Independent Agency"

FCC Edits Website Minutes After Questioning to Strip Word "Independent"

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.), Ranking Member of the Commerce Subcommittee on Telecommunications and Media, pressed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing regarding the independence of the FCC.

In Senator Luján's questioning, he pressed FCC Chairman Carr on the independence of the FCC and displayed images of the FCC's own website, which minutes prior to the hearing, stated in its mission statement that the FCC is "[a]n independent U.S. government agency." In response to Senator Luján, Chairman Carr contradicted previous testimony he has given and the FCC's own mission statement by stating that the FCC is not an independent agency. Minutes after Senator Luján's questioning, the FCC edited its own website to remove the word "independent."

"Today's hearing made clear to the American people that Chairman Brendan Carr has weaponized the FCC on behalf of President Trump. Just this morning, the FCC's own website correctly stated that it was an independent agency. In 2022, before Congress, Chairman Carr himself testified that the FCC was 'an independent, expert agency.' However, in today's hearing, Chairman Carr contradicted himself and his own agency's stated mission. Minutes later, the FCC edited its own website to cover Chairman Carr's tracks and to please President Trump. Chairman Carr continues to fail the American people by treating the FCC as an extension of the President's corrupt agenda," said Senator Luján.

Watch Senator Luján's exchange with FCC Chairman Carr here.

KEY MOMENTS:

Sen. Luján: Chairman Carr, yes or no, and please yes or no. Is the FCC an independent agency?

Chairman Carr: Thanks for that question.

Sen. Luján: Yes or no is all we need.

Chairman Carr: There is a test for this in the law.

Sen. Luján: On your website, it says the FCC is independent. This is not a trick question.

Chairman Carr: It is not independent.

Sen. Luján: Is your website wrong? Is your website lying?

Chairman Carr: The FCC is not an independent agency.

Sen. Luján: The FCC's mission on the homepage of the FCC: "An Independent U.S. Government agency overseen by Congress." Is that factual? Is that a lie?

Chairman Carr: The FCC is not formally an independent agency.

Sen. Luján: Is this true, or is this a lie?

Chairman Carr: The FCC is not an independent agency, formally speaking.

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