Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democrat, said the public will remember “who complied in advance and who fought back. I’m glad Disney is choosing courage over capitulation.”
The filing for ABC was submitted by attorney Paul Clement, who served as US solicitor general under President George W. Bush; and Jennifer Tatel, who was an FCC lawyer during the Obama administration and for part of Trump’s first term. Tatel was promoted to acting general counsel in 2017 by then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who said she “is known for her legal acumen, FCC expertise, and careful judgment.”
ABC’s filing said that The View still meets all of the qualifications for a bona fide news program and that there is no basis for overturning the 2002 order.
“Nevertheless, at the end of March, the Media Bureau ordered KTRK Television [a Houston-based ABC station] to file another Petition for Declaratory Ruling regarding The View’s status as a bona fide news interview program,” ABC said. “In parallel, on April 28, 2026, the Media Bureau issued an extraordinary order demanding the early filing of all of ABC’s license renewal applications, including for KTRK-TV.”
Although the license review has been widely seen as retaliation against ABC for employing Kimmel, the FCC says it is related to a yearlong investigation into ABC potentially violating anti-discrimination rules with diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) practices. ABC’s filing said the company has provided over 11,000 pages of documents and extensive answers to questions for the FCC probe. The FCC called ABC’s response inadequate in an order instructing Disney to file early license renewal applications for all of its licensed TV stations by May 28.
“Viewpoint discrimination and retaliatory targeting”
Citing comments that Carr made to Fox about The View, ABC said the FCC publicly announced its investigation into the program “and presag[ed] an outcome.” Carr said in the TV appearance that “when you look at the lineup of guests that have typically been on The View, I think it’s an uphill climb for Disney to make the case that they’re just a straight news program.”