President Donald Trump waves next to Britain's Prime Minister Keir Starmer upon arriving at Chequers near Aylesbury, England, Thursday, Sept. 18, 2025. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

AYLESBURY, England (AP) — After ABC suspended comedian Jimmy Kimmel’s late-night show following a threat from the head of the Federal Communications Commission, congressional Democrats have denounced the Trump administration’s threats against political critics and unveiled a bill that would bolster free speech protections against government officials.

While the bill is unlikely to gain traction in a Republican-controlled Congress, Democrats harshly criticized the Trump administration for pressuring ABC toward the suspension of Kimmel’s show following his comments on how Republicans were responding to the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk.

Kimmel said earlier this week that “many in MAGA land are working very hard to capitalize on” the assassination and that President Donald Trump’s political supporters were trying to characterize the man charged in the attack “as anything other than one of them.”

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr subsequently called Kimmel’s comments “truly sick” and said his agency has a strong case for holding Kimmel network parent Walt Disney Co. accountable for spreading misinformation. Disney is seeking approval from the FCC for ESPN’s acquisition of the NFL Network.

Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Carr should be fired.

The Latest:

Trump urges House Republicans to vote for stopgap government funding bill

Trump is asserting on social media that Democrats, led by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of New York, want to see the government shut down and that his fellow Republicans want to keep it operating.

The Republican-controlled House could vote as soon as Friday on a temporary government funding bill to give lawmakers several weeks to work through policy disputes and keep the government from shutting down when the budget year expires on Sept. 30.

“Every House Republican should UNIFY, and VOTE YES!” Trump wrote.

Senate confirms 48 of Trump’s nominees at once after changing the chamber’s rules

The Senate has confirmed 48 of the president’s nominees. Republicans acted for the first time under new rules to clear a backlog of executive branch positions that had been delayed by Democrats.

Frustrated by the stalling tactics, Senate Republicans moved last week to make it easier to confirm large groups of lower-level, non-judicial nominations.

Democrats had forced multiple votes on almost every one of Trump’s picks, infuriating the president and tying up the Senate floor. The new rules allow Senate Republicans to move multiple nominees with a simple majority vote.

The rules don’t apply to judicial nominations or high-level Cabinet posts.