The Walt Disney Co. filed a lawsuit Tuesday in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia against the Federal Communications Commission, charging that the agency's decision to accelerate broadcast license renewals for eight ABC-owned television stations is a First Amendment violation driven by White House pressure.
The civil complaint, filed by attorneys Beth Wilkinson and Paul Clement, describes a rare order requiring Disney's stations to submit early license renewal applications—giving the company just 30 days to file paperwork that ordinarily takes months to prepare. None of the eight licenses were due for renewal until 2028 at the earliest. Disney asked the court to immediately block the FCC from taking or threatening any action against the stations and requested both a temporary restraining order and a speedy hearing.
The FCC issued the early-renewal directive in late April, ordering all eight of Disney's owned-and-operated ABC affiliates to file ahead of schedule. Those stations operate in major markets including Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco. The order came as the commission was running a parallel investigation into ABC's daytime talk program "The View" and a separate inquiry into diversity, equity and inclusion practices across Disney.
The lawsuit ties the FCC action directly to the White House. It cites President Trump's social media posts as evidence, including one in which Trump complained that late-night television hosts are "almost 100% Negative to President Donald J. Trump" and publicly asked whether broadcast licenses "should be terminated." The suit states: "Acting through the Federal Communications Commission, the Administration has waged a retaliatory campaign against ABC for a single reason: it disapproves of what ABC broadcasts. That campaign began in this Administration's earliest days and has only intensified since."
The FCC's focus on ABC intensified after Trump and the White House attacked ABC late-night host Jimmy Kimmel over a joke about first lady Melania Trump. In September 2025, Disney briefly pulled Kimmel off the air following pressure from FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. That episode followed Kimmel's on-air comments about the motivations of the man authorities say fatally shot conservative activist Charlie Kirk, and Kimmel's criticism of Republican responses to Kirk's death.
Carr responded to the lawsuit in a phone interview Tuesday, saying: "It would seem that Disney has become very concerned and worried, and they now are attempting to go to court to get the court to stop the FCC from moving forward." Carr did not dispute the core facts about the timing or the early-renewal order.
Disney's legal team framed the 30-day filing window as itself a form of pressure. Broadcast license renewals are typically multi-month processes requiring extensive documentation. Compressing that timeline to 30 days for all eight stations simultaneously, the complaint argues, was designed to burden and penalize Disney rather than serve any legitimate regulatory purpose.
The choice of Wilkinson and Clement as lead counsel carries weight. Paul Clement is a former U.S. Solicitor General who has argued more than 100 cases before the Supreme Court, including high-profile First Amendment and administrative law disputes. Beth Wilkinson is one of Washington's most prominent trial lawyers. Their involvement signals Disney intends to press this case at the highest levels if needed.
The dispute is among the most direct confrontations between a major media company and a sitting administration over broadcast licensing in recent memory. FCC broadcast licenses are the legal foundation of over-the-air television—without them, stations cannot operate. The threat of non-renewal or license challenge is one of the few regulatory tools with the power to silence a broadcaster entirely.
The eight ABC stations named in the lawsuit cover audiences across the country's largest advertising markets. A loss of any single license would remove ABC programming from a major metropolitan area and cut directly into Disney's affiliate revenue and national advertising reach. The company's broadcast television holdings remain a core part of its media portfolio even as the industry shifts toward streaming.
The case now sits with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. Disney's request for a temporary restraining order means a judge faces an early decision on whether to pause the FCC process while the constitutional questions are argued. If the court grants the restraining order, the 30-day filing deadline stops. If it declines, Disney's stations face the obligation to submit renewal applications years ahead of schedule while the litigation proceeds.
