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The Guardian - US
The Guardian - US
World
Jeremy Barr in Washington

FCC orders review of ABC licenses after Jimmy Kimmel’s Melania Trump joke

a man in suit with holding his finger up while speaking
Brendan Carr of the FCC speaks during the Concordia Annual Summit in New York on 22 September 2025. Photograph: Andrés Kudacki/AP

The US’s top media watchdog announced on Tuesday that it is accelerating the review of eight local broadcasting licenses used by ABC, in a move critics see as a clear example of political and regulatory retribution against a disfavored broadcaster.

The Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) announcement comes after the White House launched a full-on attack against the ABC’s late-night host, Jimmy Kimmel, over a joke he made last week about Melania Trump.

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