US Senators Probe FCC Chief Over Fast-Tracked Nexstar-Tegna Deal

The ranking members of the Senate Commerce Committee questioned the head of the Federal Communications Commission in a Monday letter, criticizing his approval of Nexstar Media Group Inc.’s merger with Tegna Inc. without a vote of the full commission.

Senator Ted Cruz, a Texas Republican, and Senator Maria Cantwell, a Washington Democrat, jointly told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr that he improperly allowed agency staff to green-light the merger even though it involved waiving major anti-consolidation rules, according to a copy of the letter reviewed by Bloomberg. Significant questions of policy must be addressed by the full FCC in a vote, the senators said.