FCC Removes ‘Independent’ Label From Website After Chairman’s Clash With Democrats During Senate Hearing

FCC deletes reference to agency independence during US Senate hearing

The Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday deleted a longstanding reference to the agency’s independence just minutes after a Democratic senator questioned the agency’s Republican head on the telecom regulator’s authority.

FCC leader: Agency is no longer independent

WASHINGTON — Democratic senators hammered the Federal Communications Commission's leader for pressuring broadcasters to take ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel off the air, suggesting that Brendan Carr was politicizing an independent agency and trampling the First Amendment.

FCC Abandons Claim to Being Independent

Chair Brendan Carr said in congressional testimony Wednesday that the Federal Communications Commission is "not formally an independent agency"—a characterization that was news to lawmakers. Soon afterward, the phrase "an independent U.S. government agency" became "a U.S. government agency" in the FCC's mission statement on its website...

FCC scrubs own reference as 'independent' agency from website after Dem's testy exchange with chairman

The FCC removed "independent" from its website description after chairman Brendan Carr sparred with Democrats at a Senate hearing.

FCC removes "independent" from mission statement during Carr Senate hearing

The hearing unfolded against the backdrop of an aggressive posture by Trump toward the media in his second term.

Description of FCC as 'Independent' Scrubbed From Agency Website After Chair Says It Isn't

One critic called the removal—which came immediately after FCC Chair Brendan Carr ignored nearly a century of historical precedent by claiming the agency is not independent—"a chilling authoritarian touch.”