FCC Chair Carr moves to scrap broadcast ownership cap, faces bipartisan pushback from Cruz and Democrats

Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, is seen after a committee roundtable on June 10, 2026. (Tom Williams/CQ Roll Call)

By Allison Mollenkamp Posted July 16, 2026 at 4:18 AM

The Trump administration is moving ahead with plans to allow for greater consolidation in local television, a move that has drawn pushback from Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz over the role of Congress in changing the television ownership cap.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr announced plans Wednesday to vote on repealing the national broadcast ownership cap, which limits the percentage of the market a single ownership group can reach.

The announcement drew immediate criticism from Cruz, R-Texas, who reiterated his stance that Congress would need to address the issue.

"As I mentioned in February during our hearing on this matter, I am skeptical a change can be made absent an act of Congress. I look forward to reviewing the full order when it is released tomorrow to get more detail on the FCC's precise approach."

The view that the 39 percent cap on U.S. television households cannot be changed without an act of Congress is shared by many Democrats.

Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., ranking member of the Commerce telecommunications and media panel, called the move "a blatant attempt to circumvent Congress's authority."

"Congress set the national television ownership cap at 39 percent, and only Congress — not the FCC — has the authority to change it. It is clear that Chairman Carr is once again doing President Trump's bidding."

In 2004, Congress required the FCC to set the cap at 39 percent by amending the 1996 telecommunications law.

Sen. Andy Kim, D-N.J., also a member of the Commerce Committee, said the move would be an overreach by the FCC and that he hopes "Congress reasserts our role in this."

"The last thing that the American people need is just more consolidation and less diversity, especially when it comes to information and broadcasting and news."

Kim also raised concerns about whose interests Carr serves.

"We've seen Brendan Carr over and over again just … rubber stamping what the president wants him to do, rubber stamping what [the] president's supporters and donors want him to do."

Justification

The vote is scheduled for Aug. 6. Republicans hold a 2-1 advantage on the five-member commission, with two seats currently vacant.

In an op-ed published by Breitbart News, Carr wrote that the percentage cap would be replaced with a case-by-case review to determine whether media mergers and acquisitions are in the public interest.

He argued that this framework would respond to a market where streaming and cable can reach all households and would give local stations more power in relation to national programmers.

"Increased scale will enable broadcasters to attract the capital and advertising revenue needed to sustain and produce trusted and community-focused news and programming."

North Carolina GOP Rep. Richard Hudson, chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee's panel on communications and technology, praised the move in a post on X, calling it a "massive win for local news."

"This reform will help local stations invest, grow, and keep serving our communities."

In March of last year, Hudson led a bipartisan letter with 64 other House lawmakers, including four Democrats, to Carr encouraging an update to the rule.

Despite his position that the cap is the responsibility of Congress, Cruz has appeared open to a change. At the hearing he held in February, Cruz offered arguments on both sides of the issue.