By Max Tani, Semafor.com, 3-6-25
Democrats are trying to rein in the Federal Communications Commission following a spate of regulatory actions against broadcasters that President Donald Trump doesn’t like.
On March 4, Democratic Sens. Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, Jacky Rosen of Nevada, and Ed Markey of Massachusetts announced they are introducing the Broadcast Freedom and Independence Act, a bill that proposes curtailing the FCC’s ability to strip broadcast licenses from stations that express oppositional political viewpoints to the president.
According to the bill’s text, which was first shared with Semafor, it would also prohibit the FCC from using the threat of investigation to force stations or media companies to comply with the whims of the president, and would prevent the president from firing FCC commissioners at will. The bill’s text also explicitly said the FCC could not consider political viewpoints as part of its approval over mergers.
House Democrats, led by Rep. Doris Matsui (D-Calif.), plan to introduce a similar bill. » Read More