WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. (AP) 鈥� President-elect Donald Trump on Sunday named Brendan Carr, the senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission, as the new chairman of the agency tasked with regulating broadcasting, telecommunications and broadband.
Carr is a longtime member of the commission and served previously as the FCC's general counsel. He has been unanimously confirmed by the Senate three times and was nominated by both Trump and President Joe Biden to the commission.
The FCC is an independent agency that is overseen by Congress, but Trump has suggested he wanted to bring it under tighter White House control, in part to use the agency to punish TV networks that cover him in a way he doesn鈥檛 like.
Carr has of late embraced Trump's ideas about social media and tech. Carr wrote a section devoted to the FCC in 鈥� ,鈥� a sweeping blueprint for and dismantling federal agencies in a second Trump administration produced by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
Trump has claimed he doesn鈥檛 know anything about Project 2025, but many of its themes have aligned with his statements.
Carr said in a statement congratulating Trump on his win that he believed "the FCC will have an important role to play reining in Big Tech, ensuring that broadcasters operate in the public interest, and unleashing economic growth.鈥�
鈥淐ommissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech, and has fought against the regulatory Lawfare that has stifled Americans鈥� Freedoms, and held back our Economy,鈥� Trump said in a statement on Sunday. 鈥淗e will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America鈥檚 Job Creators and Innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.鈥�
The five-person commission has a 3-2 Democratic majority until next year, when Trump gets to appoint a new member.
Carr has made appearances on Fox News Channel, including when he slammed Democratic Vice President 鈥� appearance on 鈥� -- charging that the network didn鈥檛 offer equal time to Trump.
Also a prolific writer of op-eds, Carr wrote in an for The Wall Street Journal last month decrying an FCC decision to revoke a federal award for Elon Musk鈥檚 satellite service, Starlink. He said the move couldn鈥檛 be explained "by any objective application of the facts, the law or sound policy.鈥�
鈥淚n my view, it amounted to nothing more than regulatory lawfare against one of the left鈥檚 top targets: Mr. Musk,鈥� Carr wrote.
Will Weissert And Colleen Long, The Associated Press
