Newsmax chief Chris Ruddy used a rare appearance on Capitol Hill on Friday to lash out at President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission (FCC), telling Senators at the ‘Media Ownership’ hearing: “I don’t believe in the censorship of Jimmy Kimmel.”

The intervention came after Trump-aligned FCC chairman Brendan Carr found himself in a spat with the late-night comedy host over the false claim that conservative leader Charlie Kirk was murdered by a Trump supporter.

“Look, we can do this the easy way or the hard way,” Carr said at the time, leading to Kimmel’s firing. “These companies can find ways to change conduct, to take action, frankly, on Kimmel, or, you know, there’s going to be additional work for the FCC ahead.”

Kimmel was reinstated after industry-wide condemnation of his suspension, which apparently triggered the Newsmax CEO, too.

Ruddy, who was appearing as part of a debate on the existing broadcast cap and its impact on media mergers, lashed out further at President Trump and Chairman Carr, claiming Trump was not “fully informed” on the subject.

“I think the president makes a lot of good decisions, and he does when he’s fully informed. I think Chairman Carr has not informed him and advised him well on this issue,” Ruddy said towards the end of the two-hour hearing reviewed in full by The National Pulse.

Most of the conversation revolved around the Nexstar-Tegna merger and local news production and investment across the United States, with Ruddy claiming that his Newsmax would suffer due to larger broadcasters acquiring local news channels nationwide, even though Newsmax does not compete in local media markets.

The meeting was convened by Senator Ted Cruz, a major beneficiary of Chris Ruddy’s political donations.

Recently asked about his spat with Kimmel, Chairman Carr joked: “Well, you can’t see it because I have a collar and a tie on, but underneath I have a ‘No Regrets’ tattoo right across the bottom of my neck… And that’s sort of the motto that I tend to live by.”