Disney Goes To War With Trump’s FCC Over ABC, Jimmy Kimmel

The Walt Disney Company and ABC sued the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday, accusing the agency of violating the company’s First Amendment rights through an unprecedented early review of its broadcast licenses.

The lawsuit marks one of the most aggressive legal challenges yet by a major media company against the Trump administration and comes amid an escalating fight between Disney, ABC, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, and President Donald Trump over the network’s programming — centered on late-night host Jimmy Kimmel.

Disney’s eight ABC-owned television stations were ordered by the FCC in April to begin the license renewal process years ahead of schedule. The stations’ licenses were not otherwise due for renewal until 2028 at the earliest.

Disney argues that the FCC’s action is an unconstitutional attempt to pressure the company over the content it broadcasts. “Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts,” Disney attorneys wrote in the lawsuit.

The company is asking a federal court to immediately block the FCC from taking or threatening action against Disney’s ABC stations in connection with the early renewal process. ABC has also requested a speedy hearing and a temporary restraining order.

Trump has repeatedly called for Kimmel to be fired, including after the president accused the late-night host of making a “despicable call to violence” about the president and first lady Melania Trump. The FCC’s early review, however, formally centers on ABC’s broadcast licenses and the agency’s authority to determine whether broadcasters are operating in the “public interest.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has defended the agency’s actions, arguing that broadcasters using the nation’s public airwaves have obligations that do not apply to cable channels, streaming services, or podcasts. “If you want to uniquely be on the public’s airwaves, you have to comply with those obligations,” Carr told CNBC in July.

Carr has argued that the FCC is not attempting to dictate what broadcasters say but is instead seeking to ensure that companies holding broadcast licenses meet their obligations to the public. Disney and ABC have rejected that characterization, previously accusing the FCC of attempting to chill constitutionally protected speech.

The conflict over ABC’s licenses intensified after the administration’s public clashes with Kimmel.

In September 2025, Disney briefly pulled “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” from the air after Carr publicly criticized Kimmel over comments he made following the assassination of Charlie Kirk. Kimmel had questioned the motives attributed to Kirk’s alleged killer and criticized Republicans for their response to the killing.

The network ultimately returned Kimmel to the air, but the episode became a major flashpoint in the broader dispute over whether the government was improperly attempting to influence the content of broadcast television.

Disney’s lawsuit now argues that the FCC’s actions represent an “existential threat” to the company and its First Amendment rights.

“The Commission issued an unprecedented order requiring the Stations to file early applications to renew their licenses — years before any of their licenses would have come up for renewal in the ordinary course and allowing only thirty days to file applications which ordinarily take months to prepare,” Disney attorneys Beth Wilkinson and Paul Clement wrote.

Disney CEO Josh D’Amaro signaled last week that the company was prepared to continue fighting the administration. “We’re going to stand up to what we believe is journalistic integrity,” D’Amaro told CNBC. “And we’re not going to be told how to run that side of our business.”

“I like what we do. We tell incredible stories. I think we do it well. We do it around the world. And we’re going to stay committed to that,” he added.

The FCC has not indicated that Disney’s licenses will be revoked, and the agency’s review itself does not establish that ABC has violated federal law or FCC rules.

But the legal battle pits the Trump administration’s increasingly aggressive approach toward broadcast media directly against one of the country’s largest entertainment companies.

The case could ultimately force the courts to address how far the federal government can go in enforcing the obligations attached to broadcast licenses without crossing the constitutional line into government control over protected speech.

Disney is asking the court to halt the FCC’s early renewal process while the broader dispute plays out.