FCC Chairman Pai's Response to Sen Markey Regarding the First Amendment

On October 11, 2017, Sen Ed Markey (D-MA) wrote to Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai asking for a response to President Donald Trump's call to challenge television broadcasters' licenses because of their news coverage. On February 1, 2018, Chairman Pai wrote back saying that he is a strong supporter of the First Amendment and the FCC will continue to protect the First Amendment. "I have made clear that the FCC does not have the authority to revoke a license of a broadcast station based on the content of a particular newscast," Chairman Pai wrote. He also let Sen Markey know that he had no correspondence/communication from the White House or other members of the Trump administration seeking FCC action against a broadcaster.