Group of House Democrats Wants Carr Probed for Project 2025 Chapter
Carr said he cleared his participation with FCC ethics officials.
Jake Neenan
WASHINGTON, July 17, 2024 – Several House Democrats on Wednesday asked the Federal Communications Commission's ethics watchdog to investigate commissioner Brendan Carr for authoring a chapter of the conservative Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 public policy manifesto.
The Heritage Foundation has produced similar Republican administration blueprints every election cycle since the 1980’s. This year’s slate of recommendations, once again called Mandate for Leadership, has drawn media attention for its sweeping anti-regulatory proposals and the ties of its authors to former president Donald Trump – many of them were former advisors and senior officials in his administration. Trump has publicly tried to distance himself from the project, claiming not to know who is behind it.
Carr authored the Project 2025 chapter on the FCC and telecommunications policy, which 16 House Democrats said could be a violation of the Hatch Act and federal employee ethics laws because the document includes Carr’s official FCC title.
In a statement to Broadband Breakfast, Carr said he cleared his Mandate essay with agency ethics officials, adding that he acted in his personal capacity the entire time.
“The Misuse of Position Rule clearly prohibits federal employees from using their government positions, titles, or authority to sign letters, write op-eds, speak in their personal capacity, or — as it were — draft the blueprint for archconservatives to take over their agency,” the representatives wrote, referencing part of the federal employee ethics law.
Separately, the Hatch Act puts restrictions on the political activity of federal employees, including using an official title when engaging in that activity.
For the group of lawmakers, led by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-Calif., the involvement of former Trump aides and Project 2025’s support for a “conservative president” make participation in the effort akin to supporting a political candidate.
“Given the close ties between Project 2025, Trump, and his re-election campaign, it is deeply troubling that Commissioner Carr would use his official title and position to author part of the political playbook for a Republican presidential candidate. At the very least, it creates an appearance of impropriety,” the letter said.
The group called for the FCC’s inspector general, as well as the Office of Special Counsel and Office of Government Ethics, to investigate whether Carr violated any rules.
Heritage’s Mandate is a 992-page PDF, including footnotes and author bios. Carr’s contribution ran 15 pages, covering such familiar Carr topics as “reining in Big Tech, promoting national security, unleashing economic prosperity, and ensuring FCC accountability and good governance.”
“The FCC’s career ethics official approved of me participating in my personal capacity, which I did. And I made clear to Heritage that I would only be participating in my personal capacity,” Carr said in an email. “As to my title, the FCC’s career ethics official said that I could include my current position in any bio I supplied to Heritage along with other biographical details, and that is what I did.”
Carr’s other policy proposals included a more robust spectrum pipeline, more aggressive measures to get Chinese companies out of American networks, and for big tech companies to contribute to the agency’s Universal Service Fund.
He also called for the agency to support low-earth orbit satellite companies like Starlink, owned by Elon Musk, who recently pledged $45 million per month to a pro-Trump super PAC. Carr has been critical of the FCC’s decision to deny Starlink’s application for about $885 million in subsidies to provide broadband service to 640,000 rural homes and businesses across 35 states.
Nathan Simington, the other Republican commissioner at the FCC, is also listed as a contributor to the policy agenda, but his FCC title is absent.
