Sen. Cruz Plans Bill to Combat Government-Driven Censorship

WASHINGTON, Oct. 9, 2025 — A top GOP lawmaker is hoping to advance a bipartisan bill to strengthen legal protections against government-driven censorship, a proposal that followed his recent criticism of the Trump administration’s response to late-night host Jimmy Kimmel’s comment about the Sept. 10 assassination of Charlie Kirk.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in an interview with the Wall Street Journal that the bill would make it easier for individuals to seek monetary damages in cases involving alleged government censorship. He also planned to hold a series of hearings on the issue, which are expected to include testimony from Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr.

The FCC Chairman was critical of ABC for Kimmel’s comments on Sept. 15 about Kirk’s murder. ABC suspended Kimmel’s show for four episodes.

Cruz was among the few Republicans publicly questioning the Trump administration’s approach to free speech and other priorities, including tariffs and federal equity stakes in companies, according to WSJ.

“Censorship is wrong, regardless of who’s doing it,” Cruz said.

Cruz said the censorship bill had been in development for months as part of the committee’s broader investigation into whether the Biden administration pressured social media platforms to remove or downrank posts flagged as misinformation during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Some Democrats expressed support for his criticism of Carr, a shift Cruz hopes could help the legislation gain bipartisan traction.

“Perhaps that poses an opportunity for us to work together in a bipartisan way,” he said.

A similar bill passed the House in 2023 that would have prohibited federal employees from urging tech companies to restrict lawful speech, but it stalled in the Senate over concerns that it could hinder efforts to combat harmful or misleading online content.

Cruz’s proposed legislation would seek to create a new legal process for plaintiffs pursuing censorship-related cases and to establish new definitions for courts and federal agencies. It included exceptions for government investigations and excluded speech not protected under the First Amendment.

Despite his criticism of Kimmel’s comments, Cruz said he was open to appearing on the comedian’s show to discuss the bill.