Luján Warns FCC's Carr: Democrats Will Summon Him Monthly

Senator Ben Ray Luján told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Tuesday that his run of avoiding congressional scrutiny will end within months. "I don't think Chairman Carr is going to be around more than another three or four months, because when we have the gavels in here, he will be here once a month," the New Mexico Democrat warned during a Senate Commerce nomination hearing. "Mr. Carr, if you're listening now, know you're going to be in this body once a month, if not more, and in the House of Representatives as well, answering questions and you don't have the protection of the gavel any longer."

With Republican members of the committee largely absent, the hearing offered an early look at the oversight Democrats plan to run when they control the chamber next year.

Who Is Danielle Severs and Why Was She There?

The committee met to consider Danielle Thumann Severs, a Republican FCC nominee and Carr advisor, alongside Transportation and NASA nominees. The session started roughly 45 minutes after its scheduled 10:30 a.m. start and ran about an hour and 15 minutes. Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS) opened it; Commerce Chair Ted Cruz (R-TX) arrived late and stayed briefly, as Senate Republicans were meeting that morning over leadership for the next Congress.

Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) objected to the hearing itself, arguing Severs should have been paired with a Democratic FCC nominee or paired with the renomination of Commissioner Anna Gomez. "We should be investigating the FCC, not confirming a Brendan Carr advisor to the Commission," Markey said.

What Did Cruz Ask About the ABC License Renewals?

Cruz became the first lawmaker in the hearing to raise the FCC's early license renewal for Disney's ABC stations. He extracted a public commitment from Severs not to use the agency's authority to pressure or punish a broadcaster for protected speech.

"The FCC possesses significant regulatory authority over communications, so there is always a risk that it could weaponize its authority against Americans with whom it disagrees," Cruz said. He cited 2018 efforts by Senate Democrats to push the FCC to investigate Sinclair's news coverage and license fitness, and a push by the Media and Democracy Project to deny a Philadelphia Fox broadcast license over its parent company's election coverage.

Cruz then turned to the ABC renewals, which Carr has said form part of an investigation of parent Disney. "This year the FCC ordered eight ABC-owned stations to file early renewal applications as part of the commission's unlawful discrimination investigation, which ABC argues is actually in retaliation for the network's programming," Cruz said. "I'm not asking you to prejudge that case."

Is the FCC Still Independent?

Luján pressed Severs on whether she considers the FCC an independent agency, noting Carr said it was not when Luján questioned him last year — a statement later removed from the FCC's website.

"Whether or not the FCC is independent is a constitutional question. Following Trump v. Slaughter, Commissioners at the FCC are now removable without cause, no longer making it an independent agency," Severs said. "But that's not to say that we don't have independent responsibilities and independent statutory duties to make our decisions based on the facts of the law, regardless of what the president…"

Luján cut her off to ask whether she was part of the decision to strip the "independent U.S. government agency" description from the FCC website. Severs said she was not, and learned of the change several weeks after it happened — while still declaring the FCC no longer independent given the changed legal landscape.

What Happens to the E-Rate Program?

E-Rate drew sharp partisan division. Cruz led a call for a top-to-bottom review of the four Universal Service Fund programs the FCC operates, targeting fraud, waste and abuse. "We do have an open review right now addressing many of the points that you raised around consultants in the E-Rate program, and I look forward to continuing to work with you on these issues," Severs said.

Democrats flagged a June vote that could open the door to eliminating E-Rate, which subsidizes connectivity for schools and libraries. Senator Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) asked whether Severs supports ending or further restricting the program. "I don't want to prejudge the proceeding or any of the questions that were asked in the proceeding, but as I previously said, I think that the E-Rate program has been successful," Severs said. "I think that the FCC under Section 254 does have a statutory authority to have some type of discount mechanism for schools and libraries, and I think that in the event that there are changes that we make to the program, we should be very mindful of that statutory authority."

Democrats also probed Severs' independence from Carr, whom she advises on the Wireline Bureau, the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. She said she has not worked with Carr on any media-related issues, including the Disney investigation or the Jimmy Kimmel saga. She pledged her decisions as a commissioner would be her own, but declined to name any instance where she disagreed with Carr or President Trump.

Luján closed with the same warning he gave at Commissioner Olivia Trusty's confirmation hearing last year: that Carr is not the person he voted to confirm when nominated by President Biden. "Be mindful of your decisions and your character, and don't let Brendan and Donald, the president and the chairman of the FCC, hurt you and diminish you and your future," he said.

Senators have until close of business Thursday to submit questions for the record; nominees must respond by close of business Monday. The clock now runs toward a chamber where the gavels — and the subpoena power that comes with them — may sit on the Democratic side.