By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON, Aug 7 (Reuters) – U.S. President Donald Trump on Friday nominated a senior lawyer at the Federal Communications Commission to serve on the five-member agency as he presses it to revoke the licenses of broadcasters.
The White House said Trump is tapping Danielle Thumann Severs, who is a senior counsel to FCC Chair Brendan Carr and goes by Thumann professionally, to serve on one of the two open seats on the commission.
“Danielle is a total pro. She’s been running one of the most important portions of the FCC’s economic agenda — everything from cracking down on robocalls and combatting fraud — to a lot of work on bridging the digital divide and public safety,” Carr said in an interview on Friday.
Trump has repeatedly urged broadcasters to drop comedy or news programs he dislikes or which have been critical, and pressed the FCC to revoke licenses of broadcasters he says are unfair. Last month, Trump called on the FCC to revoke licenses of Comcast-owned NBC and Walt Disney-owned ABC for not airing his remarks on election security on their broadcast channels.
Broadcasters have broad First Amendment rights to make content decisions.
The FCC currently has two Republicans and one Democrat, Commissioner Anna Gomez. Trump fired two Democrats on the Federal Trade Commission and dismissed numerous other Democrats.
The FCC historically is divided 3-2 with the party in control of the White House holding a majority. The law requires three members for a quorum, so if Thumann is confirmed it could allow Trump to fire Gomez.
EARLY REVIEW OF ABC STATIONS
Carr in April ordered an unusual, early review of broadcast licenses held by Disney’s eight company-owned ABC television stations, even though the stations’ license renewals were not scheduled to be considered until October 2028. The day before Carr ordered the early review, Trump urged ABC to fire late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.
Broadcast stations need FCC licenses to use public airwaves. While license revocations are exceptionally rare, critics say the prospect of losing a license can pressure broadcasters and raise concerns about government interference in editorial and programming decisions.
Trump demanded in November that the FCC revoke ABC licenses after he criticized an ABC News correspondent for asking Saudi Arabia’s crown prince about the 2018 killing of a Washington Post columnist, in a question he dubbed “insubordinate.”
The FCC is also investigating ABC daytime talk show “The View,” which discusses U.S. politics, after the agency said it may be subject to federal rules requiring broadcasters to provide equal opportunities to political candidates.
(Reporting by David Shepardson; Editing by Nia Williams and Matthew Lewis)
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