Brendan Carr Appointed FCC Chairman Effective January 20, 2025

Newly-elected President Trump has appointed sitting FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to be FCC Chairman effective January 20, 2025.  Current FCC Chairwoman Jessical Rosenworcel’s resignation will be effective the same day.  In the weeks to follow, President Trump is expected to nominate a third Republican commissioner who will begin serving after Senate approval, giving a 3-2 majority control for Chairman Carr’s agenda.  Carr was outspoken about stations acting in the public interest in the weeks prior to the election, claiming that political candidate access rules were violated by some network-affiliated television stations.  He is widely expected to “undo” the prior Democratically-led Commission’s efforts to reinstate EEO Form 395-B to collect broadcast station employee race, gender, and ethnicity information.