Cantwell Presses for Sustainable Solutions to Support Local Journalism, Warns Against Industry Consolidation
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, called for sustainable solutions to support the future of local journalism at today’s hearing on the future of broadcast ownership. Sen. Cantwell focused on the importance of finding a sustainable business model to avoid a future in which communities across the nation are left without local journalists and without a voice.
Cantwell Delivers Opening Remarks at Hearing on Broadcast Ownership
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, delivered the below opening statement at a hearing on the future of broadcast ownership featuring testimony from Chris Ruddy, CEO of Newsmax, Curtis LeGeyt, President and CEO of the National Association of Broadcasters, Thomas Johnson, Partner and Co-Chair of Issues and Appeals at Wiley Rein LLP and Steve Waldman, President of Rebuild Local News.
Cantwell Demands AT&T, Verizon CEOs Come Clean on Salt Typhoon Hacks, Ongoing Network Security Risks
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation called on Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) to hold a hearing with AT&T CEO John Stankey and Verizon CEO Dan Schulman to demand answers about the current security of their telecommunications networks after they refused to be transparent about their responses to the Salt Typhoon cyberattack.
Experts Agree U.S. Communications Networks Remain Vulnerable Following Salt Typhoon Hack
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, questioned a panel of telecommunications and cybersecurity experts on the continuing weaknesses and vulnerabilities in our communications networks exposed by the Salt Typhoon attack and the ongoing threats to Americans’ sensitive information and national security. To date, telecom companies infiltrated in the attack have failed to prove the Chinese hackers have been eradicated from their networks.
Cantwell Slams Efforts by Brendan Carr’s FCC to Roll Back Network Protection Rules Put in Place After Salt Typhoon Hacks
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, today wrote to Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr strongly opposing an effort by the FCC’s Republican majority to roll back rules put in place after last year’s China-sponsored Salt Typhoon hack to better protect U.S. data networks from future attacks.
Cantwell, Schatz Demand Answers on Trump Administration’s Delay of Nearly $1 Billion in Tribal Broadband Grants
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, and Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Vice Chairman of the Committee on Indian Affairs, today demanded answers from Commerce Department Secretary Howard Lutnick and National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) Administrator Arielle Roth about why the Trump Administration has frozen the distribution of nearly $1 billion in congressionally-approved broadband grants to Native communities.
Cantwell and Duckworth, Colleagues Denounce FCC Chair Brendan Carr for Illegally Gutting Federal Law to Help Ensure Families Stay Connected with Incarcerated Loved Ones
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell, Ranking Member of the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, joined Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), author of the bipartisan Martha Wright-Reed Just and Reasonable Communications Act, in denouncing Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr’s decision to undermine the 2023 law which would crack down on egregious prison phone rates and make it easier for family members to regularly communicate with incarcerated loved ones, reducing recidivism.
Cantwell Statement on Shuttering of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, issued the following statement on the shutdown of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), as a result of the rescission of its Fiscal Year 2026 and 2027 funding passed on a partisan basis in July 2025.
In Appearance on Morning Joe, Cantwell Defends Freedom of the Press, Demands FCC Chairman Carr Testify Before Commerce Committee
This morning, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation – which oversees the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) – joined MSNBC’s Morning Joe in the wake of ABC’s firing last week of comedian Jimmy Kimmel, to defend freedom of speech, freedom of the press and to demand that FCC Chairman Brendan Carr testify before the Commerce Committee as soon as possible. On Friday, Sen. Cantwell sent a letter to Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz (R-Texas) calling for Chairman Carr to appear before the Committee.
Cantwell Leads Commerce Committee Democrats in Demanding FCC Chairman Carr Testify
U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, led Democratic Committee Members Senators Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), Ed Markey (D-Mass.), Gary Peters (D-Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (D-Wisc.), Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.), Jacky Rosen (D-Nev.), Ben Ray Luján, (D-N.M.), John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.), Andy Kim (D-N.J.) and Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.) in a letter to Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) requesting the Chairman call Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Brendan Carr to testify before the Committee following his threats to use the regulatory power of the FCC to compel ABC to fire comedian Jimmy Kimmel.