Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., slammed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, calling his comments surrounding late-night talk show host Jimmy Kimmel "absolutely inappropriate."
Kimmel was suspended indefinitely from his show "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" by ABC after he made remarks about the Charlie Kirk assassination that some found tasteless. The late-night host accused conservatives of trying to score "political points" from the tragedy and, contrary to prosecutors' filings to date, implied that the killer was a Trump supporter.
"We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it," Kimmel, 57, said on his Sept. 15 program.
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Kirk was assassinated during a college event at Utah Valley University Sept. 10. The 31-year-old father of two was answering a question about transgender mass shooters when Tyler Robinson, 22, allegedly shot him in the neck, killing him. Robinson was romantically linked to a transgender partner, and text messages released by the FBI purport to show him confessing to the murder.
In response to Kimmel's broadside, FCC Chairman Carr appeared to pressure ABC on regulatory grounds during an appearance on "The Benny Show" the following Wednesday. Hours later, ABC confirmed Kimmel's show was pulled indefinitely.
"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there's going to be additional work for the FCC ahead," Carr said.
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Paul slammed Carr's comments as "absolutely inappropriate" and said the FCC commissioner has "no business weighing in on this." The Kentucky senator cautioned, however, that while people have the right to make controversial comments, they do not have the right to employment.
"People have to also realize that despicable comments, you have the right to say that, but you don't have the right to employment. Virtually everybody employed probably including yourself, has a code of conduct. In your contract, you have to adhere to it. NFL players have it, baseball players have it. If you don't adhere to that conduct, if you say things that are reprehensible or glorify someone's death, yeah, you can be fired. The FCC should have nothing to do with it… The government has no business in it. The FCC was wrong and I will fight any attempt by the government to get involved in speech," Paul told "Meet The Press" host Kristen Welker on Sunday.
Sinclair, ABC's largest affiliate group, pulled Kimmel from all of its stations Sept. 17 in the aftermath of his comments. The company issued a statement thanking Carr for his comments, and presented Kimmel with a list of demands he would need to meet for Sinclair to resume airing his program.
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"Mr. Kimmel's remarks were inappropriate and deeply insensitive at a critical moment for our country, we believe broadcasters have a responsibility to educate and elevate respectful, constructive dialogue in our communities, we appreciate FCC Chairman Carr's remarks today and this incident highlights the critical need for the FCC to take immediate regulatory action to address control held over local broadcasters by the big national networks," Sinclair vice chairman Jason Smith said in a statement.
Among Sinclair's conditions for resuming Kimmel's talk show on their local ABC affiliates was for the late night host to apologize to the Kirk family and donate to them and Kirk's political organization Turning Point USA. They also demanded that ABC hold formal discussions about their commitment to "professionalism and accountability."
Fox News Digital reached out to Chairman Carr for comment.
