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Sen. Ted Cruz on Friday said the Federal Communications Commission chairman’s threat to revoke ABC’s broadcast license over comments made by Jimmy Kimmel was “dangerous as hell” — a far more critical stance than Cruz’s Republican colleagues have taken since the late night host was booted from the air.

A free speech fracas erupted earlier this week after ABC indefinitely suspended Kimmel, hours after Carr had condemned his monologue about the man accused of killing conservative activist Charlie Kirk. On his show, Kimmel had denounced the MAGA movement for “desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them.”

Carr, speaking on a right-wing podcast, noted that the FCC grants ABC a broadcast license and that ABC has a responsibility to operate in the public interest.

“We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said. “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.”

Elected Democrats have erupted over the episode, saying Carr’s threat represented a clear degradation of the First Amendment. Republicans in office, meanwhile, have mostly demurred or said the issue was between Kimmel, ABC and its parent company Disney. Sen. Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyoming, even said in an interview with Semafor that while she used to think the First Amendment should have “almost no checks and balances on it,” cultural changes have made her reconsider.

But Cruz, who called Kimmel’s firing a “fantastic thing”, nonetheless said Carr’s involvement was mafia-esque and sets a dangerous precedent.

“That’s right out of Goodfellas,” Cruz said Friday morning on his podcast. “That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar, going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It’d be a shame if something happened to it.’”

Cruz added that there was no love lost between him and Kimmel, who has ridiculed the Texas senator over the years. He acknowledged Kimmel’s show was losing viewers and said he had lied in his monologue, but he said the federal government’s involvement is a slippery slope for conservatives who have long complained about being silenced by the media.

“I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said,” Cruz said. “I am thrilled that he was fired. But let me tell you, if the government gets in the business of saying, ‘We don’t like what you the media have said, we’re going to ban you from the airwaves if you don’t say what we liked’ — that will end up bad for conservatives.

With the Trump administration going down this road, Cruz said, “there will come a time when a Democrat wins again, wins the White House. And the next Democrat FCC … they will silence us. They will use this power and they will use it ruthlessly.”

Cruz’s comments were especially notable because he chairs the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees the FCC. He has not mentioned using his post to take any action related to Kimmel’s ouster.

When asked about Cruz's opinion Friday, President Donald Trump sided with Carr, saying his actions were "courageous."

"I think Brendan Carr is a great American patriot," Trump said. "So I disagree with Ted Cruz on that."

Cruz said a defamation lawsuit against Kimmel or ABC would have been a preferable approach. And he reiterated that while he agreed Kimmel should be off the air, the federal government should not be part of that decision.

“It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel,” Cruz said. “But when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it.”

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Three featured TribFest speakers confirmed! You don’t want to miss ​​Deb Haaland, former U.S. Secretary of the Interior and 2026 Democratic candidate for New Mexico governor; state Sen. Joan Huffman, R-Houston and 2026 Republican candidate for Texas Attorney General; and Jake Tapper, anchor of CNN’s “The Lead” and “State of the Union” at the 15th annual Texas Tribune Festival, Nov. 13–15 in downtown Austin. Get your tickets today!

TribFest 2025 is presented by JPMorganChase.