FCC Chair Says the FCC Is Not Independent

"During a surprising exchange, Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico, who didn't even get to his "gotcha question," asked whether the FCC was independent because the website says it's independent. Still, after Carr attempted to give a lengthy answer about how "there's a test in the law" regarding how we've all been misinterpreting the role of the FCC for the last century, Luján said, "It's yes or no, Brendan! On your website, it simply says, man, 'the FCC is independent.' This isn't a trick question.""

""The FCC is not," Carr responded. He continued to say that [ eye roll] [ jerkoff hand motion] the "sin qua non of independence would be removable by the president." "Just so you know, Brendan, on your website it just simply says, man, the FCC's independent," Luján said. It wouldn't be for long. Before the exchange, the FCC's website described the commission as "an independent U.S. government agency overseen by Congress." However, after the exchange, the site was updated to remove the word "independent." The Congress.gov website, however, has not been updated."

Brendan Carr testified before the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee and declared the FCC is not an independent agency. Senator Ben Ray Luján confronted Carr about the FCC website describing the commission as independent and demanded a yes-or-no answer. Carr said the FCC is not independent and argued that true independence would mean commissioners were removable by the president. The public exchange prompted the FCC to update its website to remove the word "independent." The Congress.gov entry for the FCC remained unchanged after the website edit.

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