FCC Chair Carr Discontinues Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at FCC

FCC Chair Carr Discontinues Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Initiatives at FCC

The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) under Chair Brendan Carr has taken significant steps to curtail Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts at the FCC and in companies seeking FCC transaction approvals.

Carr's main reasoning centers on the belief that many DEI initiatives represent "invidious" discrimination, meaning they are improperly based on race or other protected characteristics, which he considers illegal or inappropriate for government approval conditions.

The FCC's recently released data shows that very few broadcast radio and TV stations are owned by minorities and women, with whites holding a majority ownership interest in most stations. In full power TV stations, whites had majority stakes in 73%, versus 3% for Blacks/African Americans and 1% for Asians. Hispanics had majority ownership of 3% of full-power TV stations, while non-Hispanics had 59%. In commercial broadcast stations, women held a majority interest in 10% of stations in 2023, while men held a majority interest in 59%.

In response to this data, Carr has pushed major telecom and media companies such as Verizon, Charter Communications, and Skydance Media to eliminate their DEI programs as a condition for gaining FCC approval on mergers and acquisitions.

Specific actions Carr has taken include pressuring Verizon to scrap DEI programs to get approval for its proposed buyout of Frontier, refusing to allow Charter Communications to close its $34.5 billion merger with Cox Communications unless it gets rid of its DEI initiatives, including the removal of Diversity Officer positions, and conditioning approval of the Paramount-Skydance merger on the new company’s commitment to eliminate “invidious forms of DEI discrimination” while requiring diversity of ideological viewpoints across programming.

These moves have provoked criticism from Democratic lawmakers like Rep. Glenn Ivey and Sen. Adam Schiff, who accuse Carr of abusing his power and politicizing the FCC’s merger approval process, potentially threatening the agency’s independence and the media’s freedom.

In addition to these actions, Carr has revoked the directive that tasked each of the FCC's advisory committees with promoting DEI, issued in 2023. Promoting DEI will no longer be any part of the FCC's strategic plans, budget requests, annual performance plans, or reports. The FCC's DEI Advisory Group, established during the Biden Administration, will terminate pursuant to Section 10 of its Charter. The FCC's Equity Action Plan, published in 2022, will be rescinded.

Carr has described these efforts he is ending as follows: eliminating the Promotion of DEI from the FCC's Strategic Plan, Budget, Advisory Group, Equity Action Plan, Task Force, Advisory Committee Directive, Annual Performance Plans, and DEI Analysis from FCC Economic Reports.

The ending of DEI was based on an Executive Order issued by President Trump in 2020 titled "Ending Radical and Wasteful Government DEI Programs and Preferencing." Carr wrote that during the Biden Administration, the Commission's economic reports started to focus on the promotion of DEI, rather than hewing to the tasks laid out by Congress for those reports.

Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez has condemned Carr's decision to end DEI efforts at the FCC. In 2025, the FCC report found that white persons held a majority ownership interest in 74% of commercial broadcast stations, while persons belonging to racial minority groups held a majority ownership interest in 5% of commercial broadcast stations.

1. The FCC, under Chairman Brendan Carr, has announced the elimination of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) efforts from its strategic plans, budget requests, annual performance plans, reports, and advisory groups, following an Executive Order issued by President Trump in 2020.
2. Carr's decision has provoked criticism from Democratic lawmakers and Commissioner Anna Gomez, who argue that this move could potentially threaten the media's freedom and independence, as it significantly reduces the representation of minorities and women in broadcast media.
3. In response to the release of data showing minority and woman-owned broadcast radio and TV stations represent only a small percentage of stations, Carr has pressured major telecom and media companies to eliminate their DEI programs as a condition for merger and acquisition approvals.
4. The FCC's actions have been met with controversy, with critics accusing Carr of politicizing the FCC's merger approval process and abusing his power, while supporters argue that many DEI initiatives amount to improper discrimination based on race or other protected characteristics.
5. Despite the ending of official DEI initiatives, various media companies are expected to continue their videos, digital content, and policy-and-legislation related to general news and politics, areas thatinterface with the FCC's policy-making on media ownership and mergers.

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