Democrats’ Sweep Puts Brendan Carr In The Hot Seat

Democrats, newly empowered after this week’s midterm results, are preparing to go after Brendan Carr over claims he’s used the Federal Communications Commission to threaten broadcasters and launch investigations into those who’ve crossed President Donald Trump.

Democrats and a handful of Republicans have chafed at Carr’s conduct, including threats to punish broadcasters airing jokes from late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel; an equal time investigation into political guests on “The View”; complaints about a “60 Minutes” edit of an interview with then-presidential contender Kamala Harris; and threats to yank licenses over a diversity, equity and inclusion investigation into Disney.

Veteran lawmakers are now pledging to use their oversight powers in the new Congress to haul Carr for hearings — attention that could force him to defend his comments before committees like Commerce, Judiciary and Oversight.

Democratic investigation could ultimately shape Carr’s legacy and the public’s impression of the administration’s actions and may even thwart or dull the chair’s threats.

“As the Democratic majority embraces its obligation to hold the architects of the MAGA Agenda responsible for harms they have wrought upon our nation, including the affordability crisis that continues to devastate ordinary Americans while the wealth of their billionaire benefactors has only grown, rest assured that Brendan Carr’s name and actions will not escape our close review,” Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), a senior member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, told POLITICO on Thursday. “Rest assured, Brendan Carr’s time as an overt partisan sycophant without oversight is thankfully coming to an end.”

New Mexico Sen. Ben Ray Luján, who stands to chair the Senate Commerce Telecommunications and Media Subcommittee, also pledged to use every available tool to press Carr.

“Chairman Carr failed the American people and Congress has a responsibility to demand transparency, investigate abuses of power, and ensure the FCC is putting Americans first, not serving the political interests of the President,” Luján said.

Tuesday’s election outcome will hand Democrats new tools like subpoenas, upping their leverage to compel Carr’s testimony and request agency documents. On Thursday, Connecticut Sen. Richard Blumenthal, the top Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security Investigations Subcommittee, warned Carr that the committee would seek to compel a response if he keeps ignoring the subcommittee’s investigation into his media activities.

The majorities could seek to impose curbs restricting the FCC chair’s alleged weaponization of agency powers, particularly if they can find common ground with skeptical Republicans, through legislation or appropriations riders. Clarke said they intend to pursue all avenues of investigation, including into how Carr’s agenda has affected people’s pocketbooks and TV content.

Top leaders have long signaled discontent with Carr, a staunch Trump ally, at least since he took the gavel in 2025. (Democrats were quicker to work with Carr beforehand, evident in his three Senate confirmations by voice vote as recently as 2023.) Rep. Hakeem Jeffries, the likely incoming speaker of the House, said earlier this year that Carr is “a corrupt political hack and fake chair” who will “find himself on the wrong side of a congressional investigation in short order.”

Rep. Frank Pallone (D-N.J.), the likely incoming chair of House Energy and Commerce, called on Carr to resign more than a year ago after his threats to broadcasters airing Kimmel, as did Jeffries and presumptive incoming Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.), who will likely helm the Judiciary Committee, has objected to Carr’s scrutiny of Disney’s ABC licenses and allegations that Trump’s media priorities swayed merger approvals.

Carr has broadly disputed charges that he is policing speech or acting partial to Trump’s whims, insisting he is trying to restore trust in media and reinvigorate old broadcast rules not enforced for decades.

FCC spokespeople didn’t respond to a request for comment about Democrats’ election victory. At an Oct. 29 news conference, Carr pledged that “it’s full steam ahead” for his agenda the next two years.

“No concerns on my end at all,” Carr told POLITICO then. “I’m always happy to work with anybody when we’re aligned on the right types of policy outcomes.”

Carr’s critics off the Hill are also clamoring for congressional grillings, with groups like Demand Progress and Free Press going as far as calling for his impeachment.

"Brendan’s a talented lawyer and spokesman at this point, but I think he could really be cross-examined and pinned down on just some of the hypocrisy and the selective enforcement,” said Matt Wood, general counsel at consumer advocacy group Free Press. “What Carr's gotten away with a lot is threatening things even when he doesn't have the power to carry them out.”

These likely hearings could eat into Carr’s bandwidth to tackle other FCC matters, given the amount of time that goes into preparing.

“They do eat up a lot of time,” said Joe Kane, director of broadband and spectrum policy at the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank. “It's going to be a bigger part of his life, sort of having to deal with both the prep for those and the sort of after-the-fact questions for the record, that kind of thing. It also just gives the Democrats more of an opportunity to kind of get clips for TV.”

Carr is also losing reliable allies on the Hill, including current House Energy and Commerce Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chair Richard Hudson (R-N.C.), who repeatedly defended the chair’s agenda but lost his reelection bid. Although some within the GOP, like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, voiced discomfort with Carr’s media agenda, the majority deferred to Carr’s priorities and praised his efforts to slash regulations.

Evan Swarztrauber, a Republican tech consultant who once worked for Carr, said Democrats shouldn’t lose sight of areas they can work with the chair, like addressing robocalls and freeing up spectrum for the private sector.

“I think that capability is there,” Swarztrauber said. “It's always been there, and that'll continue.”

Carr’s allies and skeptics alike tend to believe he won’t change his own behavior on account of new Democratic majorities.

“I think Brendan is what in Poker terms is pot committed,” said Blair Levin, a veteran telecom analyst at Optimal Advisory. “He's not going to look at this and say, ‘I need to stop attacking Disney,’ for example, ‘I need to stop attacking broadcasters who relay negative news about Trump.’ He'll keep doing that.”