RSF - Reporters sans frontières

10/19/2026 | News release | Archived content

USA: RSF and DDF file complaint against FCC Chairman Brendan Carr for potential misuse of office during partisan campaigning

Reporters Without Borders (RSF) and Democracy Defenders Fund (DDF) filed a complaint on October 19 asking the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to investigate whether Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr and two other officials violated the Hatch Act by appearing with President Donald Trump at a campaign rally for Alaska Senate candidate Dan Sullivan. The complaint argues that the officials may have improperly leveraged their government authority for partisan electoral purposes, further jeopardising the independence of the US broadcast regulator.

Three senior administration officials, including Carr, Interior Secretary Doug Burgum and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, joined President Trump at a campaign event for U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan in Alaska on October 13, touting their government work at a partisan event. The speaking appearance raises serious questions about whether the three officials violated the Hatch Act, which prohibits federal employees from using their official authority to influence an election.

As the complaint describes, the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, an independent federal investigative and prosecutorial agency, has long advised that cabinet officials speaking in a personal capacity for partisan political purposes should avoid discussing their agencies' work.

While Carr claimed he attended in a "personal capacity," his remarks leaned heavily on his official role to support the Republican candidate, compromising the FCC's independence. Carr's speech focused on FCC business related to Alaska, including a commitment to work with Sen. Sullivan to connect every person in Alaska to high-speed internet. That statement followed President Trump's announcement that the FCC had planned a forthcoming vote to invest $162 million in Alaska's broadband connection.

"Brendan Carr has annihilated any sense of independence the FCC once had, turning it into a political weapon to punish anyone President Trump sees as an enemy. Carr's participation in a campaign rally in the lead-up to the midterms is a shocking new low in his politicization of the office. Carr's apparent violation of the Hatch Act deserves close scrutiny and possibly sanctions.

Clayton Weimers
Executive Director, RSF North America

"This administration keeps testing the boundaries of our democratic guardrails, and this is just the latest example. There are laws about what political appointees can and cannot do. Appointees can't just mix official and political activity, and they can't lean on their official responsibilities to support a political candidate.

Amb. Norman L. Eisen (ret.)
Executive Chair and Co-Founder, Democracy Defenders Fund

A press freedom predator

RSF has repeatedly warned about Carr's politically motivated attacks and investigations into news organizations, including a premature review of ABC's television broadcast licenses and the rescission of the national broadcast ownership cap, also known as the 39% rule. RSF recently joined a coalition of public interest organizations in filing a motion to stay the rescission of the cap, arguing that only Congress, which established the rule, has the power to repeal or change it. Carr earned a place on RSF's 2025 List of Press Freedom Predators for politicising the FCC-an independent government agency-and using it to stifle press freedom.

Read the full Hatch Act complaint below.

Published on 19.10.2026

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