"We're going to hold broadcasters accountable," the chairman said on Wednesday.

Brendan Carr cited the federal requirement that broadcast stations give equal time to political candidates.

The FCC chair said Stephen Colbert had a clear path to air an interview pulled from his late-night show.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Brendan Carr downplayed controversy around an interview “Late Show” host Stephen Colbert conducted with Texas Senate candidate James Talarico (D) that was allegedly blocked from airing on CBS.

“Ever since Brendan Carr was in this position, I don’t think anything he’s done is really that surprising,” the CNN host said.

Critics warned that the move could cause a chilling effect and influence networks’ decision-making. Anna Gomez, the sole Democratic FCC commissioner, branded the “misleading announcement” as “an escalation in this FCC’s ongoing campaign to censor and control speech.”