1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Launch an investigation into the conflicts of interest surrounding FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty. A ProPublica investigation found that both accepted expensive Kennedy Center gala tickets from Paramount — a company they directly regulate — while approving its mergers. Carr has accepted over $63,000 in such gifts since 2017. Trusty received tickets worth more than $12,000 after voting yes on Paramount's $8 billion Skydance merger. Federal ethics rules explicitly ban officials from accepting gifts from regulated entities, and four ethics experts — including former Office of Government Ethics head Walter Shaub — told ProPublica these gifts compromise FCC impartiality. This isn't a minor technicality. Hours after the December 2025 gala — where Carr sat in a $125,000 private skybox with Paramount CEO David Ellison — Paramount announced a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. Discovery. The FCC is now reviewing that proposed $110 billion merger, one of the largest media consolidations in history. Carr has already publicly promised swift approval on CNBC. Congress needs to act: demand recusals, refer this to the DOJ, and hold hearings. A federal judge could invalidate these merger decisions entirely if the process is found to be corrupted — and the public deserves answers before that happens.