Senator Ted Cruz has launched a blistering attack on President Trump's FCC chairman Brendan Carr.
Cruz compared Carr to a mob boss warning that his threats to punish broadcasters over Jimmy Kimmel's controversial remarks about Charlie Kirk's assassination could lead America down a path as 'dangerous as hell'.
In a rare public break with the Trump administration, Cruz used his Verdict podcast to slam Carr's suggestion that the Federal Communications Commission could revoke ABC's license unless the network punished Kimmel, whose show has now been suspended 'indefinitely.'
'He says we can do this the easy way or we can do this the hard way,' Cruz said. 'I got to say, that's right out of Goodfellas. That's right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, "Nice bar you have here. It'd be a shame if something happened to it."'
Though Cruz is no fan of Kimmel, whom he accused of lying 'shamelessly' to the American people over Kirk's killing, he called Carr's regulatory threats a dangerous abuse of government power that could one day backfire on conservatives.
'What he said there is dangerous as hell. It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it,' Cruz warned.
Carr's incendiary comments came during an interview earlier this week, where he accused Kimmel of 'slandering' the late Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk and suggested that ABC could face consequences if it didn't take action.
Carr warned the FCC may review the public interest obligations of ABC and its affiliates.
Last week, ABC announced it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! 'for the foreseeable future.'
Just hours later, ABC announced it was pulling Jimmy Kimmel Live! 'for the foreseeable future.'
Although the network gave no formal reason, insiders confirmed the decision followed mounting pressure over Kimmel's monologue, which critics say implied Kirk's murder was linked to right-wing extremism - an allegation that has since been disputed by investigators.
'What people don't understand is that broadcasters have a license granted by us at the FCC, and that comes with an obligation to operate in the public interest,' Carr said.
'At the very least, I would like to have an on-air apology from Jimmy Kimmel...to all of those who he slandered,' Carr added.
Cruz's rebuke also came with a warning to his own party.
He noted how Republicans who cheer Carr's actions today may regret them when Democrats regain the White House.
'There will come a time when a Democrat wins again,' Cruz cautioned. 'They will get rid of everything America that's conservative. They'll get rid of every podcast. They'll get rid of everything. They will silence us.'
The senator acknowledged that Kimmel has repeatedly mocked him and that many Republicans were pleased by his suspension, but he said those feelings are beside the point.
In the past, Carr once championed free expression, particularly when conservative voices were under threat.
'It's fine to say what Jimmy Kimmel said was deplorable. It was disgraceful and he should be off air. But we shouldn't be threatening government power to force him off air. That's a real mistake,' Cruz said.
'If the government gets in the business of saying what the media can and can't say...that will end up bad for conservatives,' he warned.
'It's sort of like conservatives are saying, "Wait, wait. If we have government, we have power. We can ban the media." But let me tell you what will happen going down this road.
'We should not be in this business. We should denounce it,' Cruz urged.
As a minority FCC commissioner during the Biden administration, Carr regularly blasted Democrats for allegedly attempting to muzzle right-leaning media outlets.
But now as chairman under Trump's second term, Carr appears to be wielding that same power in reverse.
In a scathing editorial, The Wall Street Journal called Carr's threats a 'misuse of regulatory power' and praised Cruz for having 'the courage to call it out.'
'Most Republicans are afraid of uttering even a syllable of disapproval about the Trump administration,' the Journal wrote. 'So kudos to Ted Cruz for noticing the danger from Brendan Carr's use of regulatory threats to stifle free speech.'
While Cruz has drawn a line in the sand over Carr's tactics, not all Republicans are backing away.
Pennsylvania Senator Dave McCormick endorsed Carr's underlying criticism and applauded Kimmel's removal.
'Agree with Senator Cruz. Good riddance to Jimmy Kimmel and his disgusting rhetoric. Ted also raises important concerns about the comments of the FCC chairman,' McCormick posted on X.
Trump then added fuel to the fire by defending Carr and blasting the media, telling reporters that negative coverage of his administration is 'really illegal.'
'They'll take a great story and they'll make it bad,' Trump said in the Oval Office. 'See I think it's really illegal, personally.'
Trump has filed multiple lawsuits against major news outlets, most recently losing a $15 billion defamation case against The New York Times that was tossed out by a federal judge.
Meanwhile, his VP, JD Vance, backed the cancellation in harsher terms.
'If you celebrate Charlie Kirk's death, you should not be protected from being fired for being a disgusting person,' Vance told Fox News.
Last week, Trump gloated on Truth Social at Kimmel's suspension describing him as having 'ZERO talent.'
'Great News for America,' Trump wrote. 'ABC finally had the courage to do what had to be done.'
'Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,' Trump later told reporters. 'He was fired for lack of talent.'
In contrast, Vance’s remarks were more severe.
'If you celebrate Charlie Kirk’s death, you should not be protected from being fired for being a disgusting person,' Vance said.
‘The First Amendment protects a lot of very ugly speech - but not from consequences.’