Senate Commerce Committee Chair Ted Cruz, R-Texas, sharply criticized the Federal Communications Commission over its approval of the $6.2 billion merger between Nexstar Media Group and Tegna Inc., arguing the agency sidestepped proper procedure by failing to hold a full commission vote.
The merger, approved just over a week ago, creates the largest television broadcaster in the United States.
If not stopped in court, the liberal Nexstar will own 260 TV stations across 44 states — more stations than owned by NBC, ABC, CBS, and FOX combined.
However, the FCC's decision has quickly spiraled into a multifront legal and political battle, with critics questioning both the substance of the deal and the way it was approved.
At the center of Cruz's objection is FCC Chair Brendan Carr's decision to delegate approval authority to the agency's Media Bureau rather than bringing the matter before all commissioners.
The move is particularly controversial because it included a waiver of the FCC's long-standing 39% national audience reach cap for broadcast station ownership.
The cap was made into law in 2004 and prevents any TV group from owning stations reaching more than 39% of U.S. households.
"I believe it should have been a full commission vote," Cruz said, underscoring his concern that such a consequential policy decision was made at the bureau level rather than through a formal vote by the full panel of commissioners.
Cruz's criticism carries weight.
As chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, he holds significant oversight authority over the FCC and its leadership.
While he has previously supported Carr's deregulatory agenda, his latest comments signal a willingness to challenge the agency's procedural decisions — especially when they involve major structural changes to media ownership rules.
The controversy over the waiver has been building for months.
Critics argue that bypassing the TV ownership cap without a full commission vote sets a dangerous precedent, effectively allowing regulators to rewrite statutory limits through administrative action.
That concern is now being tested in court.
Multiple lawsuits have already been filed in federal court, including the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, where opponents argue the FCC exceeded its authority and violated administrative law by delegating such a significant decision.
Plaintiffs, which include DirecTV, Newsmax, and six state cable associations, contend that waiving the ownership cap required a formal rulemaking process or, at minimum, a vote by the full commission.
The legal fight is moving quickly.
A three-judge panel from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit is scheduled to hear argument Thursday on whether to allow the merger to proceed while litigation continues.
The hearing could determine whether the combined company can operate as a single entity in the interim or must pause integration efforts.
Meanwhile, a separate but related lawsuit has been filed in federal court in California.
A coalition of 18 state attorneys general, joined by DirecTV, is seeking to block the merger outright, arguing it would harm competition and lead to higher costs for consumers.
Their complaint focuses heavily on the downstream effects of increased market concentration, particularly in retransmission consent negotiations between broadcasters and pay-TV providers.
Cable and satellite companies have been among the most vocal opponents with industry groups warning that a combined Nexstar-Tegna entity would have unprecedented leverage to demand higher carriage fees.
These costs, they say, would inevitably be passed on to consumers in the form of higher monthly bills.
The merger has also drawn opposition from a broad coalition of political and media organizations.
Conservative outlet Newsmax, the Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC), the Zionist Organization of America, consumer advocacy groups, and bipartisan policy organizations have all raised alarms about the implications of lifting the ownership cap.
These groups argue that increased consolidation could reduce viewpoint diversity and localism in broadcasting — two principles the FCC has historically cited as core to its public interest mandate.
Conservatives argue the Nexstar merger opens the door to massive consolidation — a move that will leave two or three media conglomerates owning all the major TV stations across the nation.
Supporters of the merger, including Nexstar and FCC leadership, maintain that the deal strengthens local broadcasting by creating scale needed to compete with digital platforms.
Carr has defended the agency's authority to waive ownership limits and has framed the decision as consistent with the FCC's broader deregulatory approach.
For Cruz, however, the issue is less about the outcome and more about process.
His insistence on a full commission vote reflects broader concerns in Congress about administrative agencies making sweeping policy decisions without sufficient transparency or accountability.
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