Carr accepted more than $63,000 in CBS- or Paramount-funded gala tickets

Date: 2026-07-15
Entry type: ethics-gift-disclosure
Current status: FCC said attendance was cleared; four ethics experts urged Carr to avoid the next Paramount decision
Last reviewed: 2026-09-03

Carr accepted CBS- or Paramount-funded gala tickets at least seven times beginning in 2017; federal gift rules require written authorization for qualifying widely attended gatherings.

Entities and roles

Brendan CarrFCC chair and disclosed ticket recipient
Federal Communications Commissionagency applying federal ethics rules
Donald J. Trumppresident who appointed Carr to the commission and later designated him chair
CBS Newsregulated broadcaster reported as ticket donor with its parent
Paramount Skydance Corporationregulated company reported as ticket donor with CBS

Relationships in this file

Donald J. Trumpappointee accepted gifts from regulated broadcasterBrendan Carr
businesslegalpersonalpoliticalreported2 sourcesCited claim 1 Cited claim 2 Cited claim 3
Donald J. Trumpagency ethics process cleared chair's attendanceFederal Communications Commission
legalpoliticalreported2 sourcesCited claim 1 Cited claim 2
Donald J. Trumpregulated company funded appointee's gala ticketsParamount Skydance Corporation
businesslegalpoliticalreported2 sourcesCited claim 1 Cited claim 2

Money trail

otherCarr's disclosed CBS/Paramount ticket giftsmore than $63,000
Provided by
CBS or its parent company, Paramount
Accepted by / recipient
Brendan Carr
realized · 2024-12-31 · observedPopulation Kennedy Center gala tickets CBS or its parent company provided to Brendan Carr across at least seven disclosed acceptances after his 2017 FCC appointmentPeriod 2017-01-01 to 2024-12-31Basis Lower bound from ProPublica's review of Carr's public financial disclosures; CBS or Paramount was the reported donor and Carr the recipient.Limits The numeric value is a floor. It excludes Carr's December 2025 skybox attendance because the corresponding disclosure was not public.Open cited evidence

Claims and evidence

factreported
ProPublica's review of FCC Chair Brendan Carr's financial disclosures found that he accepted Kennedy Center gala tickets from CBS or its parent company at least seven times after Trump appointed him to the FCC in 2017, with disclosed values totaling more than $63,000 through 2024; whether Paramount paid for Carr's 2025 skybox seats remained unknown because his latest disclosure was unavailable.
- ProPublica: FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar DealsCarr disclosure history, aggregate ticket value, donor identity, and missing 2025 disclosure
analysisreported
An FCC official told ProPublica that agency ethics officers under Trump-designated chair Brendan Carr treated the gala as a widely attended gathering, while the agency did not provide the written authorizations requested by ProPublica; four ethics experts said Carr's acceptance compromised the FCC's impartiality and that he should not participate in the next Paramount merger decision.
- ProPublica: FCC Officials Took Pricey Gifts From Paramount as the Company Needed Approval for Billion-Dollar DealsFCC exception response, missing written authorizations, and four experts' recusal assessment
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 5 CFR Part 2635, Subpart B — Gifts From Outside SourcesWritten-authorization and agency-interest conditions in § 2635.204(g)(2)
factdocumented
5 C.F.R. § 2635.202 generally bars an executive-branch employee from accepting a gift from a prohibited source or because of official position, subject to exceptions; § 2635.204(g)(2) permits free attendance at a qualifying widely attended gathering only after written agency authorization that attendance serves the agency's interest.
- Electronic Code of Federal Regulations: 5 CFR Part 2635, Subpart B — Gifts From Outside Sources5 C.F.R. §§ 2635.202(a), 2635.203(d), and 2635.204(g)(2)