The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Thursday, March 27, 2025, that ABC might face the loss of its broadcast license as Disney, its parent company, undergoes an investigation concerning its diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) policies. This scrutiny aligns with the Trump administration’s broader initiative to dismantle similar programs across both governmental and private sectors.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, speaking to Fox News on Monday, March 31, stated that Disney’s DEI initiatives might breach federal regulations if they are determined to be discriminatory.
Carr has also issued letters to Comcast and Verizon, indicating investigations into their diversity practices as well.
“If the evidence does in fact play out and shows that they were engaged in race- and gender-based discrimination, that’s a very serious issue at the FCC, that could fundamentally go to their character qualifications to even hold a license,” Carr said. “But we’re going to follow the facts wherever they go.”
Carr revealed the investigation into Disney and ABC, asserting that the commission possesses evidence that may indicate violations of equal employment opportunity regulations by the media conglomerate. This probe follows another similar investigation into Comcast, the parent company of NBCUniversal, regarding analogous DEI issues.
Carr stated that evidence suggests Disney and ABC might have made employment decisions based on race and gender, including the creation of race-specific affinity groups within the company. He also mentioned evidence pointing to the use of demographic-based quotas.
Disney confirmed receipt of Carr’s letter and expressed its readiness to cooperate with the commission’s investigation.
“We are reviewing the Federal Communications Commission’s letter, and we look forward to engaging with the commission to answer its questions,” Disney told The Hill.
The FCC investigation specifically mentions Disney’s “Reimagine Tomorrow” initiative, which Carr described as a “mechanism for advancing its DEI mission.” He also referred to a 2020 ABC memo that reportedly required at least half of regular and recurring characters, actors, and writing staff to be from “underrepresented groups.”
Under increasing scrutiny, Disney has revised some of its diversity initiatives. The company recently updated its executive compensation policies, removing diversity and inclusion as a performance metric and replacing it with “talent strategy.” Additionally, Disney has shortened warnings about racial stereotypes that previously appeared before certain classic films.
The investigation into Disney is part of President Trump’s larger campaign against DEI initiatives. Since taking office in January 2025, Trump has issued executive orders dismantling DEI policies in educational institutions, federal agencies, and the private sector.
One executive order instructed the Secretary of State to remove “Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility” as a primary criterion for Foreign Service tenure and promotion. Another barred basing Foreign Service recruitment, hiring, promotion, or retention decisions on race, color, religion, sex, or national origin.
The White House has lauded these actions as “restoring common sense to government” and reverting to merit-based hiring. According to a White House statement, the administration has eliminated “discriminatory DEI offices, employees, and practices across the federal government.”
Nonetheless, the administration’s actions against DEI have encountered legal challenges. In late March, a federal judge in Chicago, Illinois, temporarily blocked the U.S. Department of Labor from implementing sections of Trump’s executive orders, following a lawsuit by Chicago Women in Trades, a non-profit that prepares women for skilled construction trades.
The judge ruled that the certification requirement in the executive orders is “so broad and vague that it threatens the core mission” of such organizations. The ruling also noted that the vagueness of the orders, coupled with the threat of financial penalties, would likely pressure organizations to unnecessarily reduce DEI programs.
In another case, a different federal judge largely blocked Trump’s executive orders ending government support for DEI programs, finding they likely violated constitutional rights, including free-speech rights.
Meanwhile, the U.S. Education Department has threatened to withhold federal Title I funding from schools that fail to comply with its interpretation of civil rights laws, which it claims prohibits DEI programs that “advantage one’s race over another.” This has raised concerns among educators, particularly in rural and low-income communities dependent on federal aid.
The American Federation of Teachers has filed a lawsuit to challenge the department’s guidelines, arguing that the administration is “wielding a cudgel of billions in federal aid” to compel schools to adopt its political ideology.
DEI programs aim to enhance workplace representation and participation across different genders, races, ethnicities, religions, ages, sexual orientations, disabilities, and classes. Advocacy groups argue that these initiatives are strategies to equalize opportunities for disadvantaged groups, not quotas.
Critics of the Trump administration’s anti-DEI measures argue that dismantling these efforts could exacerbate existing inequities in employment, education, and healthcare. Supporters, however, see the actions as necessary to eliminate perceived discriminatory practices.
As the FCC proceeds with its investigation into Disney and ABC, the broader debate over DEI policies in American institutions is expected to intensify, carrying significant implications for media companies, federal contractors, educational institutions, and the private sector.
