FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has faced backlash from Democratic lawmakers and free speech advocates for threatening to revoke broadcasters' licenses over their coverage of the Iran war. Carr warned that broadcasters would lose their licenses if they don't "operate in the public interest." This comes after President Donald Trump called reports of Iran striking five U.S. tanker planes "fake news". Democrats accused Carr's comments as an authoritarian assault on free speech. California Gov. Gavin Newsom, a Democrat, and Rep. Ted Lieu, D-Calif., both agreed that such a move would be "flagrantly anti-First Amendment" and "fascist". However, Carr defended the FCC's First Amendment right to revoke a broadcaster's license if it was deemed not to be public interest.