Paramount had said it expected to close the $8.4 billion merger in the first half of 2025. But the first half of the year came and went, and the merger remained under review by the FCC and its chair Brendan Carr, who had been appointed to the role earlier this year by President Trump.

The Federal Communications Commission Thursday approved Skydance's $8 billion acquisition of Paramount, paving the way for "one of the most highly scrutinized media deals in the last decade," said The New York Times.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr was asked to respond to criticisms of the Trump administration's intervention in the free press.