FOIA Files Show FCC's Brendan Carr Held 8 White House Meetings, Deepening Bias Questions
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
FOIA Files Show FCC's Brendan Carr Held 8 White House Meetings, Deepening Bias Questions
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Aug 19
Summary
FOIA records obtained by Democracy Forward show FCC Chair Brendan Carr attended at least eight White House meetings and had three scheduled calls with Trump administration officials between March 2025 and February 2026.
The documents undercut Carr’s public refusal to discuss White House contacts and detail calls with chief of staff Susie Wiles and Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., plus meetings on spectrum and drones.
The files also reveal previously undisclosed contacts with conservative media figures, including January 2026 talks with Fox CEO Lachlan Murdoch and February 2026 meetings with Sinclair chair David Smith.
ABC cited Carr’s allegiance to Trump in a lawsuit filed Tuesday over an early license-renewal order issued a day after Trump and Melania Trump demanded punishment for a Jimmy Kimmel joke.
Democracy Forward said the breadth of access for political allies and regulated companies raises questions about FCC independence, though former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler said White House contact itself is not terribly unusual.