On Friday at CPAC 2026, the Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Brendan Carr, sat down with Julie Strauss Levin, General Counsel for America First Legal Foundation, for what turned out to be a pretty interesting conversation. It was a hard-hitting, fast-paced interview that wrapped up very quickly, and there was a lot of information put out.
Here are some highlights.
Mr. Carr set out by describing the FCC's mandate in regulating communications. But his primary achievements were described as his efforts to take on the fake media. Mr. Carr noted that President Trump, who appointed him to his current role, ran on a primary platform plank of taking on the legacy media. He further noted that several liberal legacy media figures have left their prime positions, that taxpayer-funded public media has been defunded.
Broadcasters, Mr. Carr noted, have a license from the government, and by FCC regulations, are required to present information in accordance with FCC regulation. Now, he said, local stations are being empowered to push back on major broadcast networks, giving them more latitude to tailor programming to local preferences. They are, as Mr. Carr said, required to serve the public interest.
He went on to give several examples of obvious bias by the legacy media networks and print outlets.
Ms. Levin pointed out the great disparity in coverage of Democrat vs. Republican politicians and policies, noting that Kamala Harris received over 90 percent favorable coverage, whereas President Trump received the opposite, claiming that 9 percent more Americans have trust in gas station sushi than in big media..
Mr. Carr was asked to explain the Equal Time provision, which requires broadcast networks, in news programming, to provide equal time for political candidates on both sides of an issue. There is an exception in the rule for what are known as bona fide news organizations, but went on to describe how that exception has been badly abused in recent years. Mr. Carr also noted that there is currently an FCC investigation over alleged violations of this rule.
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When the Democrats were in charge of the FCC, he said, they weaponized it. Mr. Carr's intent for FCC is not to weaponize it, but to enforce its regulations and provisions evenhandedly, across the board.
On call-in centers, Ms. Levin noted that too many help line call centers are run in foreign countries. Mr. Carr agreed that this practice not only ensures language issues, but also gives some of the workers skills to work in illegal robo-call centers. He noted that the FCC is now looking into requiring call centers to be operated in the United States by American employees.
Mr. Carr also noted that the increase of high-speed internet, reminding us that during the Biden administration, Vice President Kamala Harris was put in charge of a multi-billion dollar campaign to greatly expand high-speed internet access for thousands of Americans. Not one American was connected under the Biden administration, whereas under President Trump that program has been turned around. Internet speeds are increasing, competition among service providers is increasing, which is good for consumers.
Finally, the Pledge America campaign was described as the FCC contribution to the 250th anniversary of the United States, promoting patriotic programming in recognition of that event.
You can watch CPAC 2026 proceedings live here.
Editor’s Note: The Democrat Party has never been less popular as voters reject its globalist agenda.
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