RESOLVING THE LEDGER
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Newly released calendar logs show FCC Chair Brendan Carr made at least eight visits to the White House and held scheduled calls with senior officials
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Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr maintained frequent access to White House officials and conservative media figures while overseeing the regulatory body, according to recently obtained agency records.
The documents, acquired through a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit by the advocacy organization Democracy Forward, reveal a schedule packed with high-level administration contact and meetings with right-leaning broadcast executives.
“These records show a remarkable breadth of access to FCC leadership for this administration’s political allies, conservative media figures, and powerful industry interests, including companies and organizations with business before the commission,” Dan McGrath, special counsel for oversight at Democracy Forward, told The Guardian . “This raises serious questions about whether the FCC is operating as an independent regulator, or whether political relationships and industry influence have become too intertwined with its decision-making.”
According to the logs, Carr attended at least eight meetings at the White House between March 12, 2025, and Feb. 11, 2026. He also held three scheduled telephone conversations with executive branch officials, including two discussions with White House Chief of Staff Susie Wiles.
The calendar files detail several specific contacts throughout this period. On June 2, 2025, Carr was scheduled for an unspecified “WH mtg,” and a separate note from that summer indicated that Nick Luna, deputy chief of staff for strategic implementation, would “call BC cell.”
Later that year, on Aug. 29, 2025, Carr organized a “White House deputies” meeting focused on “FAA/Spectrum issues” with his chief of staff, Greg Watson, and senior counsel Arpan Sura.
Logs from November 2025 list a “Drones – Principals meeting.” And by February 2026, schedules showed a 15-minute call where “Secretary Kennedy to call Chairman Carr Directly,” referencing Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
That same month, Carr met in the West Wing with Domestic Policy Council Director Vince Haley and visited the Department of Justice to speak with Omeed Assefi, acting assistant attorney general for the antitrust division.
The public disclosure of these interactions comes as Carr faces scrutiny regarding the agency’s independence.
In a lawsuit filed on Tuesday, ABC highlighted Carr’s public support for the administration after he ordered the network to apply early for eight local broadcast license renewals, The Guardian reported. That directive arrived shortly after President Donald Trump and Melania Trump called for action against ABC over a late-night joke by Jimmy Kimmel.
Carr has consistently declined to comment on his communications with the executive branch.
“As a general rule, we don’t get into any discussions that happen with the White House or don’t happen with the White House,” Carr told Politico reporter Dasha Burns in a recent interview. Pressed on whether he spoke with the president surrounding the ABC license order, Carr reiterated, “As a general matter, I don’t speak publicly about conversations with the White House, or whether they happen or don’t happen.”
Unlike past regulatory norms, Carr has publicly rejected the idea that the FCC functions as an independent entity, noting that the president retains the power to remove commissioners.
The records also outline Carr’s engagements with prominent executives in conservative broadcasting.
In June 2025, Carr met with former Republican Congressman Matt Gaetz following Gaetz’s move to join One America News Network as a host, with OAN President Charles Herring listed as an optional attendee.
Later, in January 2026, Carr hosted a previously unannounced meeting with Fox Corporation Chief Executive Lachlan Murdoch, Fox head of government relations Kristopher Jones and Fox Senior Vice President Joe Di Scipio.
The following month, in February 2026, Carr held a meeting with David Smith, chairman of Sinclair Broadcast Group.
Beyond executive meetings, internal emails show Carr actively pitching himself to conservative outlets. In April 2024, Carr emailed a booker for the Fox News program “Fox & Friends” to discuss legislative issues surrounding TikTok, writing, “No worries at all if there’s nothing that makes sense.”
Though the booker noted a lack of immediate availability, they offered to book him for future broadcasts.
In one email following a public demonstration where protesters called for his termination, Carr joked to a telecommunications journalist, “I was going to hit them with the Trump dance if they did the chant a second time.”
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