Gorsuch warns – Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch said a new ruling expanding presidential removal authority over independent agencies could let the White House gain “waxing authority” over areas including the FCC—raising fears that media regulation and probes into ABC could
Supreme Court Justice Neil Gorsuch didn’t just weigh in on the latest decision. In a concurring opinion. he pressed a deeper concern into the open—warning that the Federal Communications Commission’s probes into ABC could be politically driven. especially now that a new Supreme Court ruling broadens presidential reach.
The court’s decision came on Monday in Trump v. Slaughter, where the justices overturned the 91-year-old precedent set in Humphrey’s Executor. The 6-3 ruling. written by Chief Justice John Roberts and opposed by the court’s three liberal justices. expands presidential authority over independent federal agencies. including the SEC. FCC and FTC.
Gorsuch, appointed by former President Trump, agreed with the outcome. But his concurrence carried a warning about what comes next. He argued that when presidents gain power to remove officials who won’t follow the administration’s thinking, that authority can spread far beyond any single agency.
“It would be one thing if today’s decision afforded the White House more control over the airwaves, or financial markets, or energy — but presidents will now enjoy waxing authority over all these areas and more,” Gorsuch wrote.
He tied the point to how agencies operate in practice. asking whether a company could withstand shifting enforcement across different regulators. A business “out of favor with the party in control of the White House might be able to stave off an FCC investigation. ” he wrote. “But can it survive a subsequent FTC ruling declaring unlawful one of its long-standing trade practices?”.
The reference to FCC and ABC landed in the middle of the story because Gorsuch also pointed to public criticism from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr aimed at Jimmy Kimmel, the ABC late-night host. Gorsuch cited Carr’s comments as an example of how an agency’s authority could expand too far.
“The Benny Show, Sept. 17, 2025 (‘[W]e can do this the easy way or the hard way’),” Gorsuch wrote, pointing to Carr’s threat. He explained that the FCC chairman’s earlier remarks—including a warning that “additional work … [would be] ahead” if broadcasting companies didn’t “find ways to … take action”—came after Kimmel’s on-air remarks.
That threat had consequences for ABC. The network took Carr’s warning seriously enough to remove Kimmel from the air for a week.
ABC, for its part, is already involved in disputes with the FCC. One dispute centers on the agency’s equal opportunity rules regarding “The View.” Another involves a review of the company’s broadcast licenses. Gorsuch’s concern is that the legal framework now enlarges what politically aligned oversight could look like—turning regulatory friction into leverage.
His concurrence also emphasized what independent agencies can do. and how much of that power rests on broad statutory grants with comparatively little concrete guidance. Gorsuch described agencies as bodies that “regulate our businesses. ” oversee “financial markets. ” set “the rules for the internet and airwaves. ” shape how “we light our homes. ” influence “how we run our elections. ” and determine “the manner of our employment.” He added that they decide “what toys our children will play with” and “how we interact with each other at work.”.
While Gorsuch declined to offer a direct solution in the opinion, he argued that Americans still have tools to push back. He noted that “these agencies were never truly independent from politics or even the influence of the president’s appointment powers.”
“We have, then, no shortage of tools,” he wrote. “The only real question is whether we will use them.”
Neil Gorsuch Supreme Court Trump v. Slaughter Humphrey’s Executor FCC ABC Brendan Carr Jimmy Kimmel The View FTC SEC political authority media regulation
So basically they’re messing with ABC too? Weird.
I didn’t read all that but sounds like the White House gets to bully independent agencies now. FCC probes into ABC? That feels like political payback, not regulation.
Wait, Gorsuch is warning about waxing authority? Like… waxing cars? Lol but seriously though, isn’t FCC already controlled by whoever’s president? If they’re removing heads, they just swap them out with their people and boom, no more “independent” anything.
This is why I don’t trust courts or the FCC. They say it’s about removing officials, but then it turns into “investigations” of whatever channel or company is inconvenient. Also ABC must’ve done something, like everyone always does, right? It’s funny how they bring up airwaves but then my cable still works, so who knows.