FCC Chair Admits Agency Is Independent Only If You Ignore Reality

KEY POINTS

•On November 20, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr called his commission not formally independent during Senate testimony.
•The FCC removed 'independent' from its mission statement website the very same day amid questioning from Sen. Ben Ray Luján.
•Carr declined to say if President Trump was his boss but implied the president could fire FCC commissioners.

On November 20, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr straight-faced told Senate that the commission he runs isn’t formally independent anymore. Minutes before, the website nixed the word 'independent' from the FCC’s mission statement faster than Trump dodging questions on cable news. Sen. Ben Ray Luján caught FCC slipping, noting the mission statement’s morning glow-up that afternoon vanished. Meanwhile, Carr tiptoed around whether President Trump is his boss but nudged yes, the president could fire FCC commissioners like they're bad reality show contestants. Trump also threw shade in November on Carr's long-sought plan to lift broadcaster ownership caps — because apparently, 'Radical Left Networks' enlarging is a horror plot twist. So the FCC's playing both sides while its website plays whack-a-word. The only thing independent here is confusion.