Trump Appoints FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr as Agency Chair

The president-elect describes Carr as a great supporter of free speech.

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr in Washington on March 11, 2024. Jack Hsu/The Epoch Times

President-elect Donald Trump on the night of Nov. 17 made another appointment for his incoming administration, this time naming Brendan Carr, a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner, as the agency’s chair.

As one of the agency’s five Senate-confirmed commissioners who serve staggered five-year terms, Carr is currently the senior Republican at the FCC.

The position of FCC chair is designated by the president from among the pool of confirmed commissioners and does not require another Senate confirmation.

Carr was nominated as a FCC commissioner by both Trump and President Joe Biden, serving across both administrations.

“I first nominated Commissioner Carr to the FCC in 2017, and he has been confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate three times,” Trump said in a statement posted on his Truth Social platform. “His current term runs through 2029 and, because of his great work, I will now be designating him as permanent Chairman.

“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.

“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.

“Congratulations to Chairman Brendan Carr on a job well done. Lead us into a great future, Brendan!”

According to the FCC’s website, Carr led the agency’s efforts to update its infrastructure rules to “cut billions of dollars in red tape” and “accelerate the buildout of high-speed [5G] networks“ through private-sector participation. He is also the champion of the FCC’s ”Connected Care Pilot Program“ telehealth initiative for low-income Americans and veterans, as well as a jobs initiative through community colleges that promotes apprenticeships ”as a pipeline for good-paying 5G jobs.”

Before he was confirmed in the role of FCC commissioner, Carr served as the FCC’s general counsel and adviser to then-FCC chairman Ajit Pai.

Carr thanked Trump for the appointment.

“I am humbled and honored to serve as Chairman of the FCC,” he wrote on social media platform X. “Now we get to work.”

Days before the Nov. 5 election, Carr said that an appearance by Democratic presidential nominee Vice President Kamala Harris on “Saturday Night Live” may have violated an FCC rule against licensed broadcasters using public airwaves to influence an election in favor of a candidate unless the other candidate is offered equal time by the same broadcasters. This led to the NBC network airing a message from Trump on Nov. 4.

Carr will replace Biden’s FCC chair, Jessica Rosenworcel.

The Senate confirmation of Biden’s nominee for FCC commissioner, Anna Gomez, in September 2023 established a Democrat majority (3–2) on the five-member commission.

During her time as chair, Rosenworcel has proposed the reinstallment of the Obama-era net neutrality rules from 2015 and reestablishment of the FCC’s authority over broadband providers, moves that were reversed by the agency during the first Trump administration.

Carr pushed back against the 2023 proposal, which he warned would give the federal government extensive authority to micromanage various aspects of internet service provision.

“The Biden administration has pressed the FCC to break hard left, and it has. The administration has put ideology over smart policy,” he said of the sweeping digital equity plan, urging important bipartisan priorities such as more efficient allocation of the use of the radio frequency spectrum.

Savannah Hulsey Pointer contributed to this report.