Administration Trump says he’s ‘thrilled’ to see Brendan Carr looking at FCC licenses of news organizations by Ashleigh Fields - 03/15/26 10:26 PM ET by Ashleigh Fields - 03/15/26 10:26 PM ET Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email NOW PLAYING President Trump on Sunday said he was “thrilled” to see the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr reviewing license renewal applications for broadcast corporations after accusing the media of perpetuating lies about Iran.  “I am so thrilled to see Brendan Carr, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), looking at the licenses of some of these Corrupt and Highly Unpatriotic ‘News’ Organizations,” Trump wrote in a post on his Truth Social platform.  “They get Billions of Dollars of FREE American Airwaves, and use it to perpetuate LIES, both in News and almost all of their Shows, including the Late Night Morons, who get gigantic Salaries for horrible Ratings, and never get, as I used to say in The Apprentice, ‘FIRED,’” he added. A license renewal application hasn’t been denied in decades and could mount a legal battle against the Trump administration over First Amendment rights and press freedoms. Still, Carr, who CNN confirmed was spotted at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort on Saturday, has threatened to deny license renewals. “Broadcasters that are running hoaxes and news distortions — also known as the fake news — have a chance now to correct course before their license renewals come up,” Carr wrote in a Saturday post on the social platform X.   “The law is clear. Broadcasters must operate in the public interest, and they will lose their licenses if they do not,” he added.  In recent weeks, the White House has criticized media coverage of U.S. strikes in Iran. On Sunday, Trump said media outlets falsely reported that the USS Abraham Lincoln Aircraft Carrier was attacked by Iran.  Last week, ABC reported on the FBI warning police departments in California that Iran was planning to deploy drones to the West Coast, which White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said was unverified and effectively “false.” Earlier this month, Leavitt also ripped into CNN anchor Kaitlan Collins after she asked about Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth admonishing media coverage of the deaths of six U.S. service members who were killed in an Iranian drone strike in Kuwait. While responding to the question, Leavitt said “The press does only want to make the President look bad,” at a briefing in early March and added, “especially you [in reference to Collins], especially CNN” causing an uproar from reporters in the room. The clashes with traditional media and threats to revoke broadcaster licenses has received criticism from Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) and others. “I am a big supporter of the First Amendment,” Johnson said on Fox News’s “The Sunday Briefing.” “I do not like the heavy-handed government, no matter who is wielding it. … I would rather the federal government stay out of the private sector as much as possible.” “The federal government’s role is to protect our freedoms — protect our constitutional rights,” the Wisconsin Republican added. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) said Carr’s threats were “straight out of the authoritarian playbook” while Sen. Chris Murphy (D-Conn.) described it as a “totalitarian takeover.” Add as preferred source on Google Tags Brendan Carr broadcaster licenses Chris Murphy Donald Trump Elizabeth Warren FCC Chair Brendan Carr Kaitlan Collins Karoline Leavitt Pete Hegseth Ron Johnson Trump administration Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Share ✕ LinkedIn LinkedIn Email Email More Administration News See All International US-China trade talks open in Paris, paving the way for Trump-Xi summit by Associated Press 2 hours ago International  /  2 hours ago