Brendan Carr, the Trump-picked chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), denied speculation that the agency is forcing ABC to apply early to renew licenses for its eight owned and operated local television stations as punishment for an ill-timed joke made last Thursday by the late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel. The decision drew backlash from the industry group National Association of Broadcasters, whose chief executive called it “nearly unprecedented”; from the Republican senator Ted Cruz , who said the agency should not operate as “the speech police”; and from press freedom organizations that have derided it as an example of a disfavored network being punished for editorial purposes. Carr – the US’s top media watchdog – instead said the license renewal order stemmed from an investigation that the FCC opened into Disney and ABC’s diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives back in March 2025.…