Disney’s ABC on Tuesday sued the Federal Communications Commission, accusing the Trump administration of a “retaliatory campaign” to silence the network’s lefty shows as the battle over its broadcast licenses heats up.
The lawsuit, which was filed in Washington, DC, federal court, seeks a temporary restraining order and preliminary injunction on the FCC’s review of eight of Disney’s licenses – including ABC channels in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago – as well as a DC Circuit Court hearing.
“Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” the lawsuit said.
“Again and again, the Administration has attacked ABC’s speech – the stories its journalists report and the viewpoints its network programs air. Over time, those attacks have escalated into express demands that ABC be stripped of its broadcast licenses because of its speech.”
The FCC did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
In March 2025, FCC Chair Brendan Carr launched a probe into whether Disney was still engaging in DEI policies that the Trump administration has tried to crack down on through a series of executive orders.
Tensions escalated earlier this year in April, when Carr initiated a renewal process of ABC’s licenses a year ahead of schedule, accusing the network of failing to cooperate with the DEI investigation.
The early review was launched in the midst of a heated feud between ABC’s late-night comedian Jimmy Kimmel and President Trump, after Kimmel joked that First Lady Melania Trump had a “glow like an expectant widow” after two assassination attempts on the president – and just days before a third.
Trump swiftly renewed his calls for Kimmel to be fired. The president had previously slammed Kimmel for his remarks about the shocking assassination of conservative podcaster Charlie Kirk, which resulted in ABC temporarily yanking Kimmel off the air.
The hosts of ABC’s daytime talk show “The View” – including Whoopi Goldberg and Joy Behar – also frequently bash the Trump administration, including an on-air spat with Vice President JD Vance.
In its complaint, ABC alleged the timing of the early review reveals the FCC’s “true purpose: coercing and retaliating against a network that refuses to bow to the Administration’s demands.”
“If the Administration gets its way, the message to every media company in the country will be unmistakable: tell only the stories the Administration deems favorable, or face the coercive machinery of the federal government,” ABC wrote in the lawsuit.
“Facing this existential threat, Plaintiffs have no choice but to seek redress from the judicial branch for the Administration’s blatant retaliation for their First Amendment speech,” the lawsuit continued. “Plaintiffs come to this Court reluctantly with no alternative means to eliminate these ongoing and immediate threats other than total capitulation to the Administration’s demands.”
It nodded to several remarks from Trump, including a Truth Social post in December 2025 in which the president suggested that networks that “are almost 100% Negative” in their coverage of him should have their “very valuable Broadcast Licenses” revoked.
Carr has repeatedly defended the FCC’s license renewal review, saying it isn’t about free speech but rather the requirement that broadcast networks “operate in the public interest.”
In the lawsuit, ABC noted that the early review of its licenses has “drawn condemnation from across the political spectrum,” saying that conservative Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch and Republican Sen. Ted Cruz recently warned about the dangers of a politicized FCC.
Two conservative media watchdogs – the Media Research Center and Center for American Rights – have submitted filings urging the FCC not to renew ABC’s licenses, accusing the network of partisan electioneering and spreading misinformation.
Carr has a history of picking up petitions from watchdog groups, including an FCC complaint in 2024 that accused CBS News of news distortion in a “60 Minutes” interview with then-Vice President Kamala Harris that was allegedly edited to make her answers appear more coherent.
The Biden administration had dismissed the complaint, but it was reopened by Carr when he became chairman in January 2025. Paramount – which owns CBS – ultimately agreed to pay Trump $16 million to settle his lawsuit alleging the episode was deceptively edited.
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