WASHINGTON — Senator Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sharply criticized FCC Chair Brendan Carr on Friday regarding threats related to Jimmy Kimmel’s program, describing the actions of the Trump administration official as “extremely risky.”

“It’s severely risky for the government to assume the role of determining which speech is acceptable and which isn’t, and to threaten removal from the airwaves if the message isn’t agreeable,” Cruz expressed on his podcast, “Verdict with Ted Cruz.”

“I respect Brendan Carr. He is a decent individual and the chairman of the FCC. I work closely with him, but his comments in this instance are extremely risky,” Cruz remarked.

Cruz is chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which has jurisdiction over the FCC. He warned Carr’s actions could have long-term consequences.

“While it may seem satisfying right now to pose a threat to Jimmy Kimmel, it will backfire when it leads to the silencing of every conservative voice in America, and we will come to regret it,” Cruz warned.

President Donald Trump sided with Carr while speaking to reporters in the Oval Office on Friday, when asked about Cruz’s remarks.

“I think Brendan Carr is a great American patriot, so I disagree with Ted Cruz,” Trump said.

During an interview on Wednesday with conservative speaker Benny Johnson, Carr cautioned that the FCC might consider action against ABC and its parent company, Disney, following comments Kimmel made about the murder of conservative figure Charlie Kirk on his late-night show.

The host remarked on “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” that “The MAGA group is desperately trying to portray the individual who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything but one of them, doing everything imaginable to gain political advantage from the incident.”

Tyler Robinson, 22, was charged this week with Kirk’s murder in Utah. Republican Gov. Spencer Cox said last weekend that Robinson grew up in a conservative household and later became influenced by “leftist ideology.” Robinson’s mother told authorities that, “over the last year or so, Robinson had become more political and had started to lean more to the left,” according to charging documents.

Carr described Kimmel’s remarks as “the sickest conduct possible.”

“This is a very, very serious issue right now for Disney. We can do this the easy way or the hard way. These companies can find ways to change conduct and take action, frankly, on Kimmel or there is going to be additional work for the FCC ahead,” Carr told Johnson, later suggesting that ABC affiliates could face fines or see those licenses revoked if they continued airing the show.

ABC announced it was pulling the show off the air indefinitely within hours of Carr’s remarks.

Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., told reporters that Cruz “is absolutely right” in his criticism of Carr’s comments.

“This is just unacceptable behavior,” said Tillis, who announced over the summer that he won’t seek re-election next year.

Cruz went on to say Friday: “I hate what Jimmy Kimmel said,” but likened Carr’s comments about Disney taking the easy way or the hard way to a classic mob movie.

“I gotta say, that’s right out of ‘Goodfellas.’ That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, nice bar you have here, it’d be a shame if something happened to it,” Cruz said.

“And so again, I like Brendan Carr, but we should not be in this business. We should denounce it. It’s fine to say what Jimmy Kimmel said was deplorable, it was disgraceful, and he should be off air, but we shouldn’t be threatening government power to force him off air. That’s a real mistake,” Cruz said.

Sen. Dave McCormick, R-Pa., voiced his support for Cruz’s sentiments in a social media post Friday night.

“Agree with Senator Cruz. Good riddance to Jimmy Kimmel and his disgusting rhetoric. Ted also raises important concerns about the comments of the FCC chairman,” McCormick wrote.

The FCC did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Democrats on the Senate Commerce Committee sent Cruz a letter Friday calling for a hearing with Carr.

“You have long prioritized conducting oversight to ensure our government is not being used to weaponize the censorship of speech,” they wrote. “At a time when free speech is under threat, this hearing could not be more important for the American people.”

Asked by NBC News if he would call Carr before the committee for a hearing, Cruz said, “We will certainly engage in oversight of all the agencies within the committee’s jurisdiction.”

Trump has repeatedly praised Carr and his actions, and suggested to reporters Thursday that he thinks the FCC chair should go even further. He said TV broadcasters mostly give him negative coverage, and “I would think maybe their license should be taken away. It will be up to Brendan Carr.”

Other Republicans have spoken out in support of Carr, including Rep. Chip Roy of Texas.

“I think the FCC was raising questions about what these broadcast entities, you know, are doing with their licenses. They’re well within their bounds to do that,” Roy said Thursday. “And the First Amendment needs to be absolutely guarded and protected and but again, we do a lot of thing with FCC licenses. We don’t let you say anything on broadcast. You know, we have, you know, some constraints there, and that’s appropriate.”

House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., portrayed the suspension as a simple business decision for ABC.

“What I do know is that ABC is a private company, and they can make their own choices on who they want to wear their brand, so to speak. So this is a matter of ABC’s leadership,” Johnson said.

Carr has suggested there’s more to come. “We’re not done yet,” Carr told CNBC on Thursday.

The assassination of Kirk, who was an advocate for the First Amendment right to free speech, has led to some Republicans to embrace a cancel culture that the party had railed against for years, with the Trump administration seeking out government employees who have made negative comments about Kirk after his death.

Vice President JD Vance earlier this week encouraged people to report “someone celebrating Charlie’s murder” and “call their employer,” while Attorney General Pam Bondi raised the possibility of cracking down on “hate speech.”

Frank Thorp V reported from Washington, Dareh Gregorian reported from New York.