Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr hedged during a House hearing Wednesday when asked whether he had the authority to change the broadcast ownership cap.
In an exchange before a House Energy and Commerce subcommittee, Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J., pressed Carr on whether the FCC can raise the national television ownership cap, currently set at 39%, without Congress.
Carr did not give a direct yes-or-no answer, instead saying the FCC is "looking at that now" and pointing to how the last four FCC chairs from both parties have treated the 39% cap as a rule in FCC regulations.
Pallone cut him off, demanding clarity: "Yes or no, do you believe you can raise the cap on your own?"
Carr again sidestepped the question, repeating that the agency is reviewing the issue and citing historical FCC practice.
Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat, offered a more definitive response by saying the 39% cap is not merely an FCC rule but a statutory limit Congress put into law.
"We don't have the authority to waive that," Gomez told the panel, warning that further consolidation would empower "behemoth corporate parents" to hollow out local stations, water down local news, and reduce service to communities.
Carr later suggested the legal questions are not "that compelling," while acknowledging the issue has already been raised in the D.C. Circuit and that the FCC is still evaluating whether it wants to change its position.
The stakes are enormous for local broadcasting and for conservative media.
Newsmax, in a recent filing, urged the FCC to block the proposed $6.2 billion merger between liberal-owned Nexstar Media Group and TEGNA, arguing the deal would violate federal law and create a dangerous concentration of power over local news distribution.
If approved, the combined company would reach close to 80% of U.S. TV households, roughly double the national cap.
Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., has echoed that concern, warning that allowing major station groups to exceed the cap would fuel consolidation, raise retransmission fees that get passed to consumers, and erode "localism" in favor of corporate talking points.
She also argued that expanding large broadcast groups is the wrong response to Big Tech's influence, particularly if it empowers networks she said tilt left.
President Donald Trump has likewise weighed in publicly against lifting the cap, warning on Truth Social: "NO EXPANSION OF THE FAKE NEWS NETWORKS. If anything, make them SMALLER!"
Conservatives at CPAC have also urged regulators to keep the limits, arguing that the public airwaves demand viewpoint diversity and community accountability, not a small handful of conglomerates controlling what Americans see.
Charlie McCarthy ✉
Charlie McCarthy, a writer/editor at Newsmax, has nearly 40 years of experience covering news, sports, and politics.
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