House Republicans did the sensible thing on Thursday when they blocked a partisan Democrat push to subpoena FCC Chairman Brendan Carr over his reported role in the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show. Democrats tried to turn a business decision by networks and affiliates into a congressional witch hunt, but GOP members stood firm to prevent yet another politicized subpoena.
The motion by Rep. Ro Khanna to compel Carr to testify was rejected by a party-line vote in committee, 24-21, a clear signal that Republicans will no longer rubber-stamp Democrat fishing expeditions. This was never about oversight and everything about theater and scoring political points; conservatives should be relieved the majority refused to hand Democrats another weapon.
Chairman Carr has defended himself vigorously, saying his comments were about protecting the public interest and calling out misleading narratives, not about muzzling speech. Carr’s position was echoed by broadcasters like Sinclair, which publicly supported review of national network behavior and chose to preempt Kimmel on its stations pending accountability. The American people should appreciate a regulator who pushes back against media malfeasance rather than bending the knee to celebrity outrage.
Make no mistake: some on the left are eager to weaponize every institution to chill dissent and intimidate conservative viewpoints. While a handful of Republicans expressed caution about setting precedents, the right response is not to cave but to demand clear rules that apply equally to all networks and hosts. Republicans blocking this subpoena was a necessary stand to prevent Congress from becoming an arm of cancel culture.
Democratic leaders wasted no time calling for Carr’s resignation and promising legislative retaliation, revealing this was political theater all along rather than a measured defense of free expression. Their reflexive denunciations expose a dangerous double standard: when conservative voices are targeted they howl, but when the left weaponizes outrage they unleash the full force of government. Voters should remember who used subpoenas to silence opponents and who used them to defend the public interest.
Conservatives must remain vigilant — we support accountability for media institutions, but we will not allow oversight to be turned into a cudgel for partisan censorship. The GOP’s decision to block this Democrat subpoena was the right one: preserve institutional independence, resist the left’s cancel-culture tactics, and keep Congress focused on real issues that affect hardworking Americans. If Democrats want answers, they can ask — they don’t get to subpoena their way to political victory.
