NEWS: Schiff, Booker, Warren Urge FCC to Pause Paramount–Warner Bros. Merger Over National Security Risks

Washington, D.C. - Today, U.S. Senator Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) joined Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) in urging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) to prevent any premature closing of the proposed Paramount-Skydance-Warner Bros. Discovery merger and to conduct the full national security review required under the Communications Act.

In a letter to FCC Chair Brendan Carr, the Senators warn that the deal's newly disclosed financing-showing nearly 49.5% foreign ownership-poses serious national security and foreign-policy risks. They note that the investment includes Gulf sovereign wealth funds and other foreign entities with documented histories of censorship and political influence.

"On March 23, 2026, we wrote to you with serious concerns regarding the foreign investment in Paramount-Skydance's proposed $110.9 billion acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery, and your public posture of the investment warranting only a 'very quick, almost pro forma review.' At the time, we warned that the full scope of foreign involvement had not yet come to light and urged you to conduct a full and independent review of all foreign ownership interests under Section 310(b) of the Communications Act, which prohibits U.S. corporations holding broadcast licenses from being more than 25 percent owned by one or more foreign entities. Since then, the full magnitude of foreign investment has become clear, compounding concerns about the potential risks to national security and foreign policy," the Senators wrote.

"On April 24, 2026, Paramount filed a petition for declaratory ruling with the Federal Communications Commission (Commission) seeking approval for significant indirect foreign investment, formally disclosing that nearly half-approximately 49.5 percent-of the combined Paramount-Warner Bros. Discovery entity would be owned by foreign investors," they continued.

"Paramount's petition seeks far more than approval for the 49.5 percent aggregate foreign investment. The media conglomerate is requesting advance approval for each foreign investor to increase its individual stake up to 20 percent in the future, which, should each of the sovereign wealth funds exercise that option, could result in up to 100 percent aggregate foreign ownership of one of the nation's largest broadcast media companies," the Senators noted.

"Paramount's assertion that this transaction 'will not present any national security, law enforcement, foreign policy, or trade policy concerns' is not a legal determination the Commission may accept without scrutiny. The Gulf sovereign wealth funds collectively represent the financial instruments of three foreign governments with distinct national interests and a shared record of censorship and press suppression," they added.

"The Commission has an obligation to honestly answer a fundamental question: whether placing 49.5 percent of the equity in the parent company of CBS, CNN, and 28 broadcast television stations into the hands of three foreign governments serves the American public. We are prepared to pursue every available avenue-legislative, oversight, and legal-to ensure that it does," they concluded.

The Senators are demanding that the FCC take the following steps immediately:

• Bar the merger from closing while Section 310(b)(4) and national security reviews are pending.
• Reject Paramount's request for advance approval of up to 100% aggregate foreign ownership-an authority reserved only for controlling investors, which the Gulf funds are not.
• Publicly disclose all foreign investment agreements, including equity commitments, subscription agreements, side letters, and information-rights provisions.
• Confirm the status and timeline of the Committee's national security review.
• Clarify whether Attorney General Todd Blanche is participating in the review and, if so, on what basis, given the financial interests of foreign sovereign funds with ties to the Trump administration.
• Issue a public finding detailing the Commission's national security analysis and the basis for any approval or denial.

The full text of the letter is available here.

Background: Senator Schiff has previously voiced concern about how the sale of Warner Bros. Discovery could potentially impact domestic film production, the workforce, consumer costs, media consolidation, and theaters - including at a hearing with Warner Bros. executives before the Senate Judiciary Committee earlier this year.

In February, Senator Schiff and Rep. Friedman sought answers from Paramount Skydance Corporation CEO David Ellison and Netflix Co-CEOs Ted Sarandos and Greg Peters, pressing for concrete commitments to protect California jobs and American workers as both companies were pursuing the acquisition of Warner Bros. Discovery. Ellison responded to the lawmakers' inquiry here.

Schiff is also working to advance bipartisan legislation to establish a federal film tax incentive, modeled after successful state programs like California's, to help the United States remain competitive in the global market and encourage domestic filmmaking.

###