Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) plans to introduce a bill that would make it easier to sue the government over alleged censorship, he told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.
Cruz’s statement comes after he disagreed with the administration’s threat toward ABC for late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s comments about the assassinated conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
“Censorship is wrong, regardless of who’s doing it,” Cruz said.
Cruz’s planned bill would codify protections against government-driven censorship and help consumers win monetary damages in lawsuits, he told the outlet. The senator wants to focus on the topic in a series of hearings, which are expected to include Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.
The government previously faced criticism for its condemnation of Kimmel, who made comments disparaging MAGA-world for allegedly trying to tie Kirk’s shooter to leftist ideology over being one of them.
Kimmel’s show was yanked off the air for his comments before he was later reinstated.
President Donald Trump suggested that the networks giving him bad press should have their broadcasting license taken away during the Kimmel drama. “I have read some place that the networks were 97% against me, again, 97% negative, and yet I won and easily [in last year’s election],” the president said last month.
“They give me only bad publicity [and] press. I mean, they’re getting a license. I would think maybe their license should be taken away,” he added.
Cruz said Democrats told him they agreed with him on censorship, and he hopes the momentum will lead to them supporting the bill. “Perhaps that poses an opportunity for us to work together in a bipartisan way,” Cruz said.
The Texas senator’s bill would change the court process plaintiffs go through and introduce new definitions for everyone to follow. It would also include exceptions for government investigations, but wouldn’t include protected speech.
Cruz suggested to the outlet that he would appear on Kimmel’s show to publicly support the bill despite believing Kimmel isn’t funny.
CRUZ PRESSES WIKIPEDIA TO ADDRESS CONCERNS ‘SYSTEMIC BIAS’ IS PROMOTING LEFT-WING IDEOLOGY
The senator has a long history with Kimmel, playing a charity basketball game together in 2018. But when Kimmel’s show was suspended, Cruz called it a “fantastic thing.”
Nevertheless, Cruz said there were “real questions about the role of the FCC here.”
