Brendan Carr, Trump's FCC pick, takes aim at Big Tech

On November 17, President-elect Donald Trump nominated Brendan Carr to chair the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), the independent agency that regulates and oversees the nation's communications networks. Carr, who was appointed by Trump as an FCC commissioner in 2017, has been an outspoken critic of content moderation efforts on social media networks like X and Facebook, likening them to censorship regimes, and is expected to target tech giants for regulatory action.

A familiar career trajectory

Carr has spent virtually his entire life in Washington, D.C. Born in the nation's capital, Carr attended Georgetown University, where he graduated with a BA in Government in 2001. He pursued a legal career by enrolling at the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America in D.C. and graduated with a J.D. in 2005. His first job out of law school was at the D.C.-based law firm Wiley Rein, where he specialized in telecommunications law. From 2007 to 2008, he clerked on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals before returning to Wiley Rein. Clerks serve in research, advisory and support roles for judges, and federal clerkships are the most prestigious of such posts in the legal world. That's because "from a purely resumé-enhancing perspective, a clerkship also bestows upon a newer attorney a stamp of approval that opens doors to opportunities at prestigious law firms and government agencies and in academia," said the Federal Bar Association in a 2020 blog post.

Trump picked Carr for a five-year term on the FCC in 2017, and because he has already been confirmed by the Senate, he requires no further action to move into the role of chair. President Biden renominated Carr as a commissioner in 2023. If that seems puzzling, it is because no more than three commissioners can be members of the same political party.

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Carr's agenda

Carr wrote a chapter of the Heritage Foundation's much-discussed Project 2025 manual called "Mandate For Leadership: The Conservative Promise." In Chapter 28, titled "Federal Communications Commission," Carr recommends that the FCC should take aim at "big tech" and rein in some of its alleged abuses. He also recommends that the FCC stop interpreting Section 230 of the 1996 Communications Decency Act as conferring limitless immunity on media platforms for the content that they carry. Carr additionally believes that companies like Meta are suppressing conservative speech. "We must dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans," Carr said in a post on X the day he was nominated to chair the FCC. Not everyone believes that it will be that easy. "I don't believe the FCC has the authority to do this," said Chamber of Progress CEO Adam Kovacevich to Roll Call, referring to Project 2025's Section 230 reforms.

Congress should "empower consumers to choose their own content filters and fact checkers, if any," Carr said in his Project 2025 manual. Carr also thinks that the FCC should ban the social media platform TikTok and expand its "Covered List" of companies that should be prohibited from doing business in the U.S. for national security reasons. In addition, Carr has criticized the Biden administration for rejecting a bid to use federal subsidies to expand broadband access through Trump-aligned billionaire Elon Musk's Starlink platform. Carr applauded Musk's controversial 2022 acquisition of Twitter and is expected to deliver federal grants to the tech mogul. Carr is also planning to change the agency's internal practices. "Starting next year, the FCC will end its promotion of DEI," Carr said in a post on X.

Carr's appointment was met with criticism from the left. "Brendan Carr has been campaigning for this job with promises to do the bidding of Donald Trump and Elon Musk," said Free Press Action co-CEO Craig Aaron to The Washington Post. But his fellow FCC commissioners welcomed the news. "Commissioner Carr is a dedicated public servant and a recognized leader on the many issues before the Commission today," said Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks in a statement. Elon Musk congratulated Carr on X immediately after his appointment was announced.