Former Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., found himself aligned – for once – with his nemesis Sen. Ted Cruz, saying the Texas Republican “got it right” in his rebuke of Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr over the Jimmy Kimmel-ABC-Trump administration clash.
Cruz chastised Carr last week after the chair publicly pressed ABC to act against late-night host Kimmel, warning that conservatives could ultimately be harmed if government officials wield regulatory power to punish speech.
Cruz likened Carr’s approach to ABC to something out of a mob movie. “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.'”
On Monday, McConnell agreed.
“Well, my colleague, Ted Cruz, said it looked just like ‘Goodfellas.’ As a First Amendment guy, myself, I think he’s probably got it right. You don’t have to like what somebody says on TV to agree that the government shouldn’t be getting involved here,” McConnell said in a post to X.
The controversy erupted after Kimmel’s monologue on Sept. 15, in which he accused Republicans of trying to mischaracterize the background of the suspect in the assassination of conservative leader Charlie Kirk for political gain.
Two days later, Carr appeared on “The Benny Show” podcast and cautioned broadcasters about their FCC obligations. “We can do this the easy way or the hard way,” he said. Later that day, ABC announced it was suspending “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” indefinitely.
Cruz, who chairs the Senate Commerce Committee that oversees the FCC, said he agreed Kimmel was “lying” but blasted Carr’s approach.
“And [Kimmel’s] lying to the American people is not in the public interest. And so, 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 gotta say he threatens it,” Cruz said, leading into his reference about “Goodfellas,” the 1990 mob film starring Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, and Joe Pesci.
Cruz and McConnell have clashed for more than a decade over strategy and ideology.
Their feud dates to 2013, when Cruz led the push to defund the Affordable Care Act (ACA), triggering a government shutdown McConnell opposed. In 2015, Cruz accused McConnell on the Senate floor of lying about an Export-Import Bank deal, hardening the rift. The two have since split repeatedly on tactics — Cruz favoring confrontational, grassroots fights and McConnell stressing pragmatic dealmaking.
Newsmax wires contributed to this report.
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