Exclusive: Republicans huddle with FCC chair in closed-door meeting to dismantle DEI, liberal media machine



House Republicans met with FCC Chair Brendan Carr and Republican Study Committee Chair Rep. August Pfluger (Texas) on Wednesday to discuss the evolving media landscape under President Donald Trump's administration.

During the closed-door meeting that Blaze News was given exclusive access to, both Pfluger and Carr addressed concerns about the liberal bias in publicly funded platforms like NPR, as well as the importance of empowering local media.

Carr, who has been an FCC commissioner since 2017, homed in on the importance of free speech and the First Amendment and also of applying existing regulations evenly rather than to advance a political agenda.

'The RSC is committed to working alongside Chairman Carr to dismantle the censorship cartel, strengthen America's digital infrastructure through free-market principles, and restore free-speech rights for everyday Americans.'

"For too long in this government, particularly the last couple of years, your last name dictated how the government treated you," Carr said. "If your last name was Soros, the commission bent over backwards and gave you a special, unprecedented commission-level shortcut to buy 200 radio stations. If your last name was Musk, then you lost $800 million contracts that you lawfully got."

"Everybody now is going to get a fair shake going forward," Carr added.

In the meeting, Carr laid out a four-step plan to reduce media bias and restore the FCC's core principles, which include reining in Big Tech censorship, reinvigorating trust in national and local media, putting forward both economic and permitting reforms, and bolstering aspects of our national security.

With the support of Pfluger and RSC members, Carr is confident that he can accomplish these directives.

"We thank Chairman Carr for his bold leadership in confronting malign influences like George Soros that corrupt our media and silence conservative voices, and the committee fully supports his efforts to restore truth to our public disclosure while expanding broadband access to rural communities," Pfluger said.

"The RSC is committed to working alongside Chairman Carr to dismantle the censorship cartel, strengthen America's digital infrastructure through free-market principles, and restore free-speech rights for everyday Americans," Pfluger added.

Carr also spoke about some of the reforms he has already enacted. Prior to his becoming chair, Carr noted, DEI was the second-most highly prioritized core value of the FCC. Since then, Trump has issued an executive order uprooting DEI from all federal entities, and the FCC has followed suit.

"We've ended the FCC promotion of DEI," Carr said. "You would be outraged if you realized how much promoting DEI had been embedded in FCC work. ... We were spending millions and millions of dollars promoting DEI. Meanwhile, what fell by the wayside was the FCC's actual core work — and doing it competently — of connecting Americans."

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Exclusive: White House reaches beyond legacy media, gives local outlets a seat at the table



President Donald Trump's administration has made a continuous effort to give local and alternative media access to the White House newsroom, which has historically been dominated by legacy media.

During the local media row hosted Wednesday by the White House, Blaze News learned just how many media outlets were given a seat at the table.

'At the local media row, families in living rooms across the country were able to hear directly from top administration officials.'

The local media row hosted four national radio outlets, 11 local radio stations from 11 different states, and two local TV affiliates that broadcast to 34 states across the country, according to a breakdown of the event obtained exclusively by Blaze News. In sum, a total of 73 radio interviews were held, reaching roughly 60 million viewers and listeners across America.

"President Trump is leading the most transparent administration in history," White House deputy press secretary Anna Kelly told Blaze News. "On day one, he signed an executive order to promote free speech and end the weaponization of government, and his administration restored over 400 press passes previously revoked by the Biden administration."

Americans who tuned in to the local media row were able to hear from over a dozen administration officials and Cabinet secretaries like Energy Secretary Chris Wright, EPA Administrator Lee Zeldin, border czar Tom Homan, and White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt.

'It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt our White House to the new media landscape in 2025.'

"At the local media row, families in living rooms across the country were able to hear directly from top administration officials, including several Cabinet secretaries, thanks to President Trump's commitment to restoring transparency and sharing updates with the American people far and wide,' Kelly added.

The local media row is just the latest installment of the White House's commitment to widening the tent of media access beyond traditional legacy media.

Just days after Trump was inaugurated, Leavitt unveiled the "New Media" seat reserved in the White House press briefing room in order to incorporate alternative media outlets that have been denied access in the past.

"It’s essential to our team that we share President Trump’s message everywhere and adapt our White House to the new media landscape in 2025," Leavitt said during her debut briefing.

Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Charles McQuillan/Getty Images

Poll: Less than 1/4 of Ohioans support the unlimited abortion outlined in issue 1

If Ohio voters overwhelmingly reject unlimited abortion, why do they plan to vote for it in Issue 1? The answer is deception.

Local Media Slam Library ‘Book Bans’ While Omitting The Explicit Content Being Pushed On Minors

The newspapers won't tell the full story. The librarians disguise porn as free speech and twist age-appropriate categories into book banning.

Denver TV Anchor With Private Security Ridicules People Worried About Violence

Detached leftist media elites can't escape reality, no matter how hard they try to dismiss urban violence. Now their distorted view has enveloped local news outlets too.