Overview
- FCC Commissioner Anna M. Gomez, the panel’s only Democrat, told Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro in a letter Monday that the Trump administration has turned the agency into a tool to pressure ABC and other media.
- Gomez cited a string of actions she says target Disney, including an early renewal review of eight ABC station licenses ordered last month, an equal‑time probe into The View, a revived complaint over ABC’s 2024 presidential debate moderation, and a diversity policy inquiry.
- Disney pushed back last week with a filing that accuses the FCC of chilling protected speech and defends The View’s decades‑old news exemption under equal‑time rules, and the company hired prominent Supreme Court litigator Paul D. Clement.
- Arguing that “the threat is the point,” Gomez said many inquiries will never reach enforcement yet still deter coverage, and she pointed to the timing of the license review after White House calls to fire Jimmy Kimmel as evidence of political pressure.
- Early license reviews are rare and the FCC has not revoked a TV license in more than forty years, which suggests any penalties would likely be tested in federal court and could set rules that affect how news and talk programs book political guests.