Republican Texas Sen. Ted Cruz went on a rampage during a Senate hearing Wednesday, opening up old wounds with Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr.
In September, Cruz stepped into the breach to defend late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments on the assassination of Charlie Kirk and later his suspension. Carr had issued a thinly veiled threat to Disney, warning the ABC parent company could face consequences if it failed to discipline Kimmel. He told Benny Johnson, Disney could “do this the easy way or the hard way.” (RELATED: FCC Chair Brendan Carr Raises Republican Eyebrows Over Handling Of Jimmy Kimmel Suspension)
This is what got Kimmel fired.
Right here. Watch.It’s called soft power. The Left uses it all the time. Thanks to President Trump, the Right has learned how to wield power as well.
Brendan Carr is the most consequential FCC Chairman in American Historypic.twitter.com/z2NbyvV0tw
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) September 18, 2025
Several Republican senators, Cruz among them, expressed concern that Carr’s remark was dangerous and could chill free speech. Cruz even compared the threat to the behavior of gangsters.
“That’s right out of ‘Goodfellas,’” Cruz said. “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”
During a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Wednesday, Cruz finally had the opportunity to confront Carr face-to-face.
“Jimmy Kimmel is angry, overtly partisan, and profoundly unfunny. That, sadly, is true for most late-night comedians today, who seem to have been collectively broken by President Trump’s election. Jimmy’s remarks about Charlie Kirk were tasteless, and ABC and its affiliates would have been fully within their rights to fire him, or simply to no longer air his program,” Cruz said.
WASHINGTON, DC – DECEMBER 16: Activists project a meme of FCC Chair Brendan Carr the evening before his Senate hearing on December 16, 2025 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Leigh Vogel/Getty Images for Project Carr Accountability Rapid Response)
“That was their choice. But what government cannot do is force private entities to take actions that the government cannot take directly. Government officials threatening adverse consequences for disfavored content is an unconstitutional coercion that chills protected speech,” Cruz continued. “This is why it was so insidious how the Biden administration jawboned social media into shutting down conservatives online over accurate information on COVID or voter fraud.”
Cruz went on to accuse his Democratic colleagues of staying “silent” throughout Biden’s administration.
“I welcome them, now having discovered the First Amendment and the Bill of Rights. Democrat or Republican, we cannot have the government arbitrating truth or opinion,” Cruz said.
Carr agreed. However, he argued that he must remain consistent with the precedents set by the Communications Act when ensuring that broadcast networks operate in the public interest.
The FCC commissioner also defended himself against a smattering of attacks from Democratic senators, including Minnesota Sen. Amy Klobuchar and Hawaii Sen. Brian Schatz. At one point, Klobuchar asked him if he would have tried to pull Kimmel off the air if he had made similar remarks as President Donald Trump on the alleged murder of director Rob Reiner.
Carr took issue with the question.
“Now you’re trying to encourage me to police speech on the internet,” he replied.
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