FCC Chair Rejects Donald Trump’s Call For ABC To Lose License Over Presidential Debate

The chairwoman of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel, said that the agency does not revoke broadcast licenses “simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.”

Her statement came in response to two prominent Democrats’ calls for the agency to make a statement after former President Donald Trump, in an interview on Fox & Friends, called on regulators to take away the network’s broadcast license for the way that they conducted the Sept. 10 debate. Trump and his allies have objected to fact-checking of his comments from the debate co-moderators, David Muir and Linsey Davis. Trump also has claimed, without evidence, that the debate was rigged against him.

After Trump’s comments, two Democratic lawmakers, Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) and Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) called on FCC commissioners for their commitment “to making licensing determinations objectively, based on the standards set forth in the Communications Act, and in a manner that upholds the First Amendment. Americans should have complete faith that each FCC commissioner will carry out their responsibilities objectively and consistent with the Constitution.”

The FCC grants broadcast licenses to individual stations, not networks, and they are subject to renewal.

In her statement, Rosenworcel said, “The First Amendment is a cornerstone of our democracy.  The Commission does not revoke licenses for broadcast stations simply because a political candidate disagrees with or dislikes content or coverage.  Our job at the agency is to license broadcast stations in a manner consistent with the Constitution and the Communications Act of 1934 as well as the rules and policies we have adopted pursuant to these laws.  There are no exceptions.”

Trump has previously threatened broadcast networks with the loss of their licenses, including in 2017, when he went after NBC over their reporting. After extensive coverage of Trump’s remarks, then-FCC chair Ajit Pai, appointed to his leadership post by Trump, said that “under the law does not have the authority to revoke the license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast.”