President-elect Donald Trump appointed Brendan Carr to serve as the next chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Both Trump and President Joe Biden previously nominated Carr to serve as an FCC commissioner. The Senate unanimously confirmed Carr three times.
In a statement, Trump praised Carr’s record.
“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for free speech, and has fought against the regulatory lawfare that has stifled Americans’ freedoms, and held back our economy,” Trump said. “He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s job creators and innovators, and ensure that the FCC delivers for rural America.”
Carr also contributed a chapter on the FCC for Project 2025, a post-election policy plan published by the conservative Heritage Foundation.
In the chapter, Carr outlined four main goals for the FCC: reigning in Big Tech, promoting national security, unleashing economic prosperity and ensuring FCC accountability and good governance.
Reigning in Big Tech
Carr argued that a handful of tech giants are abusing their dominant positions in the market. He advocated for imposing transparency rules on platforms like Google, Meta and YouTube, requiring them to “provide detailed disclosures about practices that would shape internet traffic—from blocking to prioritizing or discriminating against content.”
“We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans,” Carr wrote on X on Sunday, Nov. 17.
National Security and TikTok
Carr also addressed the threat posed by the Chinese Communist Party, specifically through the popular social media app TikTok. He argues that the app should be banned due to national security concerns, claiming that “TikTok provides Beijing with an opportunity to run a foreign influence campaign by determining the news and information that the app feeds to millions of Americans.”
Promoting Economic Growth
Carr said he believes the FCC should take a pro-growth approach, particularly to close the digital divide. He stressed the need for updated infrastructure policies to enable the U.S. to lead in 5G development. Carr advocated for the construction of new cell sites, key building blocks for 5G. He also suggested that the FCC should expedite efforts to support U.S. space leadership with technologies like Starlink and Kuiper, which could provide high-speed internet globally.
FCC Accountability and Oversight
Carr called for greater accountability in government technology and telecommunications programs. He criticized the federal government for failing to “put appropriate guardrails in place to govern the expenditure of billions in broadband funds,” leading to what he describes as “massive waste, fraud, and abuse.”
Trump and Project 2025
During his campaign, Trump repeatedly distanced himself from Project 2025, insisting that he had no involvement in its creation. He also called for several major news networks—including CBS, NBC, ABC and CNN—to lose their FCC licenses, accusing them of biased and unfair coverage.
However, critics now argue that Trump’s selection of Carr, who wrote a chapter on the FCC for Project 2025, shows his ties to the document and his intention to govern in accordance with its goals.
“Trump picked Brendan Carr, the literal author of Project 2025’s chapter on the FCC, to be chairman of the FCC,” Journalist Ahmed Baba wrote on X. “Can’t say we didn’t warn you.”
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