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Texas Republican Senator Ted Cruz criticized remarks made by Federal Communications Commission (FCC) commissioner Brendan Carr, who suggested suspending ABC’s broadcast licenses over comments made by late-night host Jimmy Kimmel. Speaking on his podcast Verdict with Ted Cruz , the senator compared Carr’s approach to that of a mob boss, drawing comparison to scenes from the 1990 film Goodfellas .

The controversy followed ABC’s decision, under parent company Disney, to revoke Kimmel as host of Jimmy Kimmel Live! . Cruz condemned the move as threatening, citing Carr’s comments in an interview with Benny Johnson on The Benny Show . “I mean, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said when discussing possible FCC action over ABC’s broadcast license in response to Kimmel’s controversial segment.

Cruz clarified that he did not support Kimmel and was not opposed to his removal. “Look, Jimmy Kimmel has been canned. He has been suspended indefinitely. I think that is a fantastic thing,” Cruz said. However, the senator argued that Carr’s reaction went too far. “He threatens explicitly: ‘We’re going to cancel ABC’s license. We’re going to take him off the air so ABC cannot broadcast anymore.’ And I got to say, that’s right out of Goodfellas . 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.’”

While expressing his dislike for Kimmel, Cruz emphasized that government action against broadcasters based on content sets a dangerous precedent. “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 like,’ that will end up bad for conservatives,” he said. “The next Democrat FCC — they will silence us. They will use this power, and they will use it ruthlessly, and that is dangerous. They’ve defined anything counter to the leftist narrative as misinformation.”

The controversy drew comments from President Donald Trump during an Oval Office appearance on Friday. Asked about Cruz’s criticism of Carr, Trump defended the FCC official, calling him “a patriot”. “I think Brendan Carr is a courageous person. I think Brendan Carr doesn’t like to see the airwaves be used illegally and incorrectly,” President Trump said, as reported by The Guardian .

Trump also took the opportunity to criticize network coverage of his presidency, on ABC, NBC and CBS. 

“They’ll take a great story, and then make it bad. See, I think that’s really illegal personally,” he said. The president’s remarks refer to a media analysis by NewsBusters , a conservative watchdog group founded by L. Brent Bozell III, whom Trump nominated as U.S. ambassador to South Africa.