Jimmy Kimmel Reinstated: FCC Commissioner, Democratic Leaders React To His Pending Return — Update

UPDATED, with additional reaction: Democrats continued to call on media companies to stand up to the Trump administration, even after ABC‘s announcement that Jimmy Kimmel would return to the airwaves on Tuesday.

The sole Democrat on the FCC, Anna Gomez, said in a statement, “I am glad to see Disney find its courage in the face of clear government intimidation. More importantly, I want to thank those Americans from across the ideological spectrum who spoke loudly and courageously against this blatant attempt to silence free speech. It will continue to be up to us as citizens to push back against this Administration’s growing campaign of censorship and control.

“As this FCC considers steps that would let the same billion-dollar media conglomerates that caved in to government pressure grow even bigger, we must combat these efforts to stifle free expression. I will keep fighting to protect consumers, promote a healthy media ecosystem with viewpoint diversity, and ensure local broadcasters have the independence to stand up to government threats.”

Kimmel was pulled from the air on Wednesday, after a right wing furor over his remark earlier in the week about the MAGA effort to cast blame for Charlie Kirk‘s assassination. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, a Trump appointee, blasted the remark, and said, “Frankly, when you see stuff like this, I mean, we can do this the easy way, or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Hours later, Nexstar said that it was pulling Kimmel from its ABC stations, and soon after that, the network announced that Jimmy Kimmel Live! would be off the air indefinitely. But that triggered a backlash, with Barack Obama urging companies to stand up to the Trump administration, and even former Disney CEO Michael Eisner criticizing ABC’s move.

A spokesperson for Carr did not return a request for comment.

House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries said in a statement, “The suspension of Jimmy Kimmel should never have happened and that’s why House Democrats strongly denounced it. We will continue to investigate the Trump administration’s corrupt abuse of power and speak out against the extreme overreach.

“Media companies must hold the line against the Trump administration’s unconstitutional attacks on the First Amendment. FCC Chair Brendan Carr’s egregious actions have been met with bipartisan condemnation in Congress and across the country. He is a disgrace to the bedrock American value of free speech and should be fired immediately.”

California Governor Gavin Newsom wrote on X, “Thank you to everyone but @BrendanCarrFCC. This is a win for free speech everywhere.”