{"id":9292,"date":"2026-05-26T16:02:07","date_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:02:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=9292"},"modified":"2026-05-26T16:02:07","modified_gmt":"2026-05-26T16:02:07","slug":"qa-anna-gomez-is-the-sole-democrat-on-the-fcc-she-has-a-warning-for-big-media-companies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/siliconvalleymovingpost.com\/?p=9292","title":{"rendered":"Q&A: Anna Gomez is the sole Democrat on the FCC. She has a warning for big media companies"},"content":{"rendered":"

By STEVEN SLOAN<\/strong><\/p>\n

WASHINGTON (AP) \u2014 Anna Gomez wakes up every morning and checks her phone to see if President Donald Trump has fired her yet.<\/p>

Read more Supreme Court won\u2019t intervene in discrimination suit led by Black ex-head coach Flores against NFL<\/a><\/p>\n

For now, she remains the sole Democrat on the Federal Communications Commission, where she\u2019s on an increasingly urgent mission to press media companies to more forcefully combat an administration she says is cracking down on free speech.<\/p>\n

Her immediate focus is Disney, the parent of ABC. It is the subject of investigations launched by the FCC under Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump ally.<\/p>\n

In an extraordinary four-page letter earlier this month to Disney CEO Josh D\u2019Amaro, Gomez outlined what she described as the FCC\u2019s \u201csustained, coordinated campaign of censorship and control\u201d against the company. She noted probes touching on everything from diversity practices to ABC\u2019s moderation of a 2024 presidential debate and the guests booked on \u201cThe View\u201d along with the administration\u2019s calls for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel to be fired.<\/p>\n

She\u2019s particularly worried that the FCC\u2019s move for early reviews of ABC\u2019s broadcast licenses in the markets where it owns local stations is an effort to intimidate the network. She called it \u201cthe most egregious assault on the First Amendment this FCC has taken to date.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her message was simple: Fight back. She argued that Disney\u2019s controversial decision to pay a $15 million defamation settlement shortly before Trump returned to office did the company little good and set a bad precedent for the rest of the industry<\/p>\n

\u201cThat settlement did not buy you peace,\u201d she wrote in the letter, which she also posted to social media. \u201cIt only bought you time.\u201d<\/p>

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D\u2019Amaro hasn\u2019t publicly responded to Gomez. But he has signaled a new approach in a filing this month, accusing the FCC of taking actions that could \u201cchill critical protected speech.\u201d<\/p>\n

In an interview from her Washington office, Gomez said she was heartened by Disney\u2019s response and encouraged other broadcasters to prepare for similar fights. She\u2019s an exceedingly rare figure in the nation\u2019s capital, one of just a few Democrats who have held onto their seats at federal agencies after Trump fired most of them in a bid to bend the bureaucracy to his will.<\/p>\n

The Supreme Court is considering the constitutionality of Trump\u2019s moves and could issue a decision in the coming weeks.<\/p>\n

While that plays out, Gomez\u2019s term is slated to end June 30. But unless Trump fires her, she\u2019s likely to remain at the agency, where her presence allows for a quorum that gives Carr the opportunity to keep enacting his agenda. Given the Senate\u2019s narrow divide and dwindling calendar ahead of the midterms, it would be hard for Trump to muscle through a replacement.<\/p>

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Here are highlights of the interview, edited for length and clarity.<\/p>\n