Rep. Glenn Ivey, D-Md., on Friday accused FCC Chairman Brendan Carr of abusing his power by pushing Verizon and other companies to eliminate diversity, equity and inclusion programs to win approval of transactions before the commission (see 2505160050). Verizon’s proposed buy of Frontier was held up as Carr sought assurance on DEI (see 2505160024). Ivey spoke during a Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council (MMTC) conference.

Lawmakers and others are accusing the FCC of being involved in corruption and seeking to chill free speech after the agency’s approval of Skydance's $8 billion purchase of Paramount Global and the commission's retention of an open news distortion proceeding against CBS.

The House Appropriations Financial Services Subcommittee’s FY 2026 budget bill, which the subpanel planned to mark up Monday evening, would maintain the FCC’s annual funding level and bar the agency from using money to enforce certain policies that originated during the Biden administration and have been in Republicans’ crosshairs.

Telecom carriers are under pressure from the FCC to end their diversity, equity and inclusion programs, with Chairman Brendan Carr saying last week that the FCC won’t bless mergers by companies that have DEI policies in place. Carr sent a warning letter Friday to Disney on its DEI programs. Industry officials say companies have no choice to comply, though the FCC moves have created regulatory uncertainty. T-Mobile explained in a letter to the FCC how it’s getting rid of DEI.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s announcement that the FCC will begin investigating regulatees with diversity, equality and inclusion programs appears to be among the first actions a federal agency has taken to enforce President Donald Trump’s DEI executive order, though the FCC’s authority in this area is unclear, attorneys and academics told us. In his letter Tuesday to Comcast, Carr said the agency plans “broader efforts to root out invidious forms of DEI discrimination across all of the sectors the FCC regulates.”

Comcast confirmed Tuesday that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has asked the Enforcement Bureau to launch a probe of its and subsidiary NBCUniversal’s diversity, equity and inclusion programs to determine if they violate equal employment opportunity laws. The move is Carr’s latest foray against U.S. broadcasters, including probes of CBS, NPR and PBS (see 2502050063 and 2501300065), since he became FCC chairman Jan. 20. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., railed against the FCC and other federal agencies Tuesday for collectively “waging a relentless war on online speech and independent journalism” in the weeks since President Donald Trump returned to office last month.

A White House executive order on diversity, equality and inclusion (DEI) programs could lead to telecom companies abandoning such efforts, causing a rollback of progress on diversity, said industry executives and public interest attorneys during a FCBA panel discussion Tuesday. There is “fear and chaos” in “lots of corridors and hallways of corporate America” over the DEI executive order and anticipation of future White House action in that vein, said Clint Odom, T-Mobile vice president-strategic alliances and external affairs and a former FCC aide. “The world seems to be lining up between the companies that are doing DEI and the companies that are retreating from it.”

President Donald Trump signed a host of executive orders Monday that could affect FCC policy going forward and have already led newly minted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to scrub the agency’s processes of references to diversity, equity and inclusion and scrap the FCC’s diversity committee. The executive orders include a pause on the TikTok divestiture rule, a freeze on new regulations, a return of the Schedule F rule making it easier to replace federal workers with political appointees, and policies requiring information sharing with the new Department of Government Efficiency. Another order issued Monday officially designated Carr as chairman.

FCC Communications Equity and Diversity Council members are concerned the advisory committee won’t be allowed to continue its work once Commissioner Brendan Carr takes over the agency, and the group used its final 2024 in-person meeting Friday to present arguments for its continued operation.

Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr swiftly pointed Sunday night and Monday to enforcing broadcasters’ “public interest obligation” and ending the commission’s “promotion of” diversity, equity and inclusion policies as key parts of his agenda once he becomes chairman Jan. 20. President-elect Donald Trump announced plans Sunday night to make Carr permanent chairman when he takes office (see 2411170001). Some congressional Democrats and public interest groups criticized Carr’s agenda, while many communications policy-focused groups quickly praised the long-expected appointment (see 2407120002).