Power Grab/Make it too expensive to hold him accountable
The FCC calls Disney’s eight ABC station licenses in for early renewal; ABC calls it unconstitutional retaliation and Disney sues
— Trump's FCC squeezes ABC's station licenses.
The licenses were not due for renewal until 2028 to 2031. The order cites a year-long FCC inquiry into Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion practices.
What happened
On April 28, 2026, the FCC’s Media Bureau ordered the licenses of ABC’s eight owned stations called in for early renewal within 30 days. The stations are in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Fresno and Durham. The order cited the commission’s inquiry into Disney’s DEI practices and came amid Trump’s renewed calls to fire Jimmy Kimmel.
On May 28, the deadline, ABC filed the renewal applications under protest, calling the order “unlawful, arbitrary, and unconstitutional.” It called the agency’s conduct “unconstitutional retaliation and coercion.” On July 29 it opposed petitions to deny renewal, saying the FCC had spent 18 months seeking a pretext.
On August 18, 2026, Disney sued the FCC in federal court in Washington, and the court declined to expedite its restraining-order request. Chairman Brendan Carr has said a hearing designation order would follow if the FCC finds the stations fell short. None had been reported.
Who benefited
Trump’s most persistent broadcast critic now faces the one regulator that can end a station’s right to operate. Trump had praised Carr as a “great American patriot,” and Carr’s leverage over Disney grew as the license renewals came into play.
Who wanted something
Carr initiated the review and had signaled it for a year. In September 2025 he said the commission could act “the easy way or the hard way” over Kimmel, after which ABC pulled the show for a week. Trump publicly called for ABC’s licenses to be pulled over coverage he disliked.
Who lost out
Eight ABC stations in eight markets had to file for renewal years early, under protest, and defend their licenses against petitions to deny. Their local viewers’ service now depends on satisfying a regulator with stated views about the network’s news and comedy.
Why it matters
Reviewing licenses in response to coverage tests whether the FCC remains an independent regulator or has become a tool for punishing speech. Commissioner Anna Gomez called the DEI rationale a pretext. A broadcast license is the government’s strongest hold over any news organization.
Sources Fox NewsAl JazeeraStraight Arrow NewsFox NewsCNNNPR (via VPM)Radio+Television Business Report
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