Thank You Senator Cruz for Defending Free Speech Against FCC Overreach

Senator Cruz, your principled stand against FCC Chairman Carr’s threats to ABC demonstrates the constitutional leadership Texas needs. Despite your clear disagreement with Jimmy Kimmel’s remarks about Charlie Kirk, you recognized that government officials threatening broadcast licenses over political speech crosses a dangerous line. Your comparison of Carr’s “easy way or hard way” language to mafia tactics from “Goodfellas” perfectly captured the authoritarian nature of such pressure campaigns. Your warning that conservatives “will regret it” when future Democratic administrations use this precedent shows the long-term thinking our republic desperately needs. As chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee with direct FCC oversight, you could have stayed silent or joined the pressure campaign. Instead, you chose constitutional principles over partisan satisfaction, even breaking with President Trump on this issue. Your suggestion that defamation lawsuits would have been the proper remedy shows respect for both free speech and legitimate legal recourse. Please continue this vital work defending our First Amendment rights against government censorship, regardless of which party wields power. Democracy depends on leaders like you who understand that protecting speech we hate today preserves our own voices tomorrow. Your courage to stand against dangerous precedents, even when they benefit your political allies, makes you a true guardian of our constitutional freedoms.