ABC, one of the nation's largest broadcasters, has accused the Trump administration of retaliation, asserting that the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is unfairly targeting ABC-owned stations through an unprecedented early review of their broadcast licenses. The network claims this action stems from President Donald Trump's personal displeasure with its programming and coverage.
In a filing, ABC's lawyers stated, “The retaliation against ABC is a signal to every media company in the country: accommodate the Administration’s view of what news coverage should look like or pay the price.” The Disney-owned network has been a frequent target of the administration's criticism of the press, with President Trump reportedly testing the limits of his power to influence government agencies against media outlets he perceives as hostile.
During his second term, Trump has publicly called for the revocation of ABC's licenses and for the dismissal of late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over his political commentary. The FCC announced the early review of ABC's broadcast licenses earlier this year, alongside other investigations into the network. Most recently, Trump demanded that ABC, and any other network that declined to air his July 16 primetime speech, have its licenses revoked.
ABC contends that the administration is making a direct assault on the First Amendment and threatening the freedoms of all broadcasters, arguing that the FCC's actions are intended "to punish ABC for the content of its speech and to chill future speech that the Administration dislikes."
"Even if any violation were ever substantiated, the [FCC] has a graduated set of well established remedies far short of the corporate death penalty of license non-renewal," the company's lawyers argued. "That the agency reached first for the most extreme sanction in its arsenal, before making any finding at all, reveals its true objective: to chill not only ABC, but every broadcaster watching."
The FCC initiated its early review in April, requiring ABC to file renewal applications for all eight of its television stations. This move occurred just one day after Trump publicly criticized Kimmel for a joke about first lady Melania Trump. Prior to this, the commission had not requested advance renewal applications for more than 50 years, and had never before demanded simultaneous applications from a group of stations.
"The Commission’s departure from those norms lays bare what is really going on: the Administration is retaliating against ABC for the exercise of its First Amendment rights," the filing stated.
Despite the administration's actions, the FCC would still face significant legal hurdles if it attempted to revoke ABC's licenses, as it would need to demonstrate that the network had violated rules or engaged in misconduct.
Trump's criticisms of ABC began during his 2024 presidential campaign, when he accused network moderators of unfair fact-checking during a debate and suggested the FCC "ought to take away their license."
Shortly after returning to the White House, FCC Chair Brendan Carr, appointed by Trump, directed the agency's Enforcement Bureau to investigate ABC for potential violations of equal employment opportunity regulations, specifically concerning Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives in the workplace.
In September, following a joke made by Kimmel about Charlie Kirk, Carr issued a warning to the network, stating, "We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to take action on Kimmel, or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead."
ABC temporarily suspended Kimmel's show for about a week but reinstated it after facing backlash from the public and bipartisan political figures, including Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas), who characterized Carr's threats as "dangerous as hell."
In February, the FCC continued its scrutiny of ABC by launching an investigation into "The View" for an alleged violation of an equal opportunities rule, related to the show hosting Democratic Texas Senate candidate James Talarico. ABC lawyers noted that this investigation began just a month after the FCC reversed a long-standing precedent exempting late-night and daytime talk shows from equal opportunity requirements.