“Donald Trump and the Republican Party’s war on the First Amendment is blatantly inconsistent with American values,” the joint statement says. “Media companies, such as the one that suspended Mr. Kimmel, have a lot to explain. The censoring of artists and cancellation of shows is an act of cowardice. It may also be part of a corrupt pay-to-play scheme.”

Jeffries also teased that congressional Democrats will investigate Carr’s alleged abuse of power.

“House Democrats will make sure the American people learn the truth, even if that requires the relentless unleashing of congressional subpoena power,” Jeffries and his colleagues said. “This will not be forgotten.”

Jeffries was joined by Reps. Katherine Clark (D-MA), Pete Aguilar (D-CA), Ted Lieu (D-CA), Joe Neguse (D-CO), and Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Chairwoman Suzan DelBene (D-WA).

ABC and Nexstar Media Group pulled the plug for now on Kimmel’s late-night TV show on Wednesday after Carr vowed to take action against ABC affiliates in the wake of Kirk’s death.

The decision appeared to stem from Kimmel’s recent comments suggesting Kirk’s suspected killer, 22-year-old Tyler Robinson of Utah, identified with the Right instead of the Left.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterize this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said during his opening monologue on Tuesday’s show.

So far, all evidence suggests Robinson holds left-wing views despite growing up in a conservative family. On the bullet casings recovered by authorities, there was language alluding to the anti-fascist movement and LGBT ideology.

Because of Kimmel’s misleading comment, ABC and Nexstar said they suspended Jimmy Kimmel Live! “for the foreseeable future” starting Wednesday.

The Hollywood Reporter reported that Kimmel planned to address the backlash from his monologue on Wednesday’s show without apologizing for his comments, another aspect of the lead-up to his suspension.

Although Kimmel’s late-night show has not been definitively canceled yet, the decision marks an unprecedented action by the federal government against cable networks. Carr acknowledged it was an “unprecedented decision” when the news was announced.

This summer, fellow late-night personality Stephen Colbert received the news that CBS would cancel his show by May 2026. Democrats alleged that the Trump administration was behind the move, given that it came just before the FCC approved the merger between Paramount and Skydance. It also came after CBS and its parent company, Paramount, settled a defamation lawsuit with President Donald Trump over the network’s 60 Minutes interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris last fall.

ABC PULLS JIMMY KIMMEL INDEFINITELY FOLLOWING CHARLIE KIRK COMMENTS

Trump celebrated Kimmel’s suspension, saying it was “Great News for America,” and called on NBC to do the same with Jimmy Fallon and Seth Meyers. Trump previously suggested Kimmel was “next” after Colbert was canceled.

“Jimmy Kimmel was fired because he had bad ratings more than anything else, and he said a horrible thing about a great gentleman known as Charlie Kirk,” Trump said on Thursday during his latest visit to the United Kingdom. “Jimmy Kimmel is not a talented person. He had very bad ratings, and they should have fired him a long time ago.”