Trump nominates Danielle Thumann to FCC, prompting Senate questions on Kimmel and ABC
President Donald Trump has nominated Danielle Thumann, senior counsel to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr, to serve as an FCC commissioner. The FCC is the federal agency that oversees broadcasters, including the licences that allow television and radio stations to operate. The Guardian reported the nomination on November 10, 2026.
Senate Democrats used her confirmation hearing, a session in which senators question a nominee before deciding whether to approve the appointment, to press her on recent actions by the Carr-led FCC. Those actions have been criticised as hostile to press freedom.
The sharpest questions concerned ABC and the late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. In late April, the FCC issued an order requiring ABC to apply early to renew its local station licences. The Guardian described the order as nearly unprecedented. It immediately followed criticism of Kimmel by President Trump and Melania Trump. Carr has also been accused of pressuring ABC affiliates, the local stations that carry network programming, to drop Kimmel's show in the fall of 2025.
Senator Ben Ray Luján of New Mexico asked Thumann: "Do you support Chairman Carr's illegal campaign to remove Jimmy Kimmel from the nation's airways?" Luján said the FCC's actions would be under close scrutiny when Democrats take control of the Senate in January.
Thumann said she has not worked with Carr on any media-related issues. She said she is not familiar with the details of the ABC investigation or the early licence renewal, and that she has not been involved in conversations about ABC's practices or about Kimmel.
Senator Ed Markey questioned her on what he called "Chairman Carr's FCC censorship agenda," and asked whether the FCC can punish a broadcaster because the president disagrees with its coverage. Senator Tammy Duckworth asked whether Thumann would yield to political pressure to punish networks the administration disfavours.
Thumann said editorial decisions are protected by the First Amendment to the US Constitution, which guards free speech and press freedom. She said a decision about a station's licence should not be based purely on discontent with what the station airs.
The commission currently has one member nominated by a Democratic president, Anna M. Gomez, whose term has technically expired.
