Commissioner Gomez Remarks at UnidosUS Annual Conference

To be honest, when I joined the Federal Communications Commission, I did not expect that defending the First Amendment would become one of the central fights of my career. But that is exactly where we find ourselves today. For almost two years, I have watched this administration wage a deliberate campaign of censorship and control against broadcasters and journalists. That is part of why I launched my First Amendment Tour, and what I heard on the road surprised me. People from every corner of the country are united in their concern about what this FCC is doing to press freedom. I have sat across from station owners who have told me that they are genuinely afraid of being dragged before the FCC simply for doing their jobs. I have heard from a respected journalist whose own broadcaster told him his contract would be ended early, not because of his ratings or his conduct, but because his past coverage had angered this administration and they did not want to risk angering it further. This administration has become remarkably skilled at building that kind of fear, and not just with journalists and broadcasters. Universities, law firms, and countless other institutions have faced the same pressure to fall in line rather than risk becoming the next target. I am well aware there is a cost to saying these things out loud. Many of my Democratic colleagues at other independent commissions have already lost their seats for standing their ground. But as I have said before, if I am removed from the FCC, it will not be because I failed to do my job. It will be because I insisted on doing it. I have accepted that risk, and I would accept it again, because the alternative is far worse.