Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr has agreed to testify before the Senate Commerce Committee, a person familiar with the matter told Semafor.
The panel is led by Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, who last month criticized Carr for publicly pressuring Disney and ABC over comments made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel about the alleged killer of conservative leader Charlie Kirk.
During his Sept. 15 monologue, Kimmel suggested Kirk's alleged killer, Tyler Robinson, might have been a pro-Trump Republican.
"The MAGA Gang [is] desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel said. "In between the finger-pointing, there was grieving."
On Sept. 17, Carr called Kimmel's comments "truly sick" and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel, ABC, and network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation. He said the comic appeared to be making an intentional effort to mislead the public that Kirk's assassin was a right-wing Trump supporter.
ABC suspended Kimmel's show later that day. Kimmel returned to late-night television on Sept. 23 after a nearly weeklong suspension.
Cruz compared Carr to a mob boss and called his remarks "dangerous as hell," though he added that he likes Carr personally and works with him in his role as FCC chair.
Carr and the two other commissioners are expected to appear before the committee in November, though the date has not been finalized and could be pushed back, the person said.
Some Republicans praised Carr's hard-line tack, but others echoed Cruz in arguing the federal government should not attempt to police free speech. Carr has defended his comments as misconstrued, saying they did not amount to a threat against ABC affiliates' broadcast licenses or pending business deals.
The committee is also holding a separate hearing this month on alleged censorship during the Biden administration.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.