FCC commissioner says Kamala’s appearance on SNL may have violated federal airtime regulation

FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr has raised concerns that Vice President Kamala Harris’ appearance on Saturday Night Live (SNL) over the weekend may have violated federal airtime regulations.

Carr argued that Harris’ participation could have breached the Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) equal time rule, which mandates that public broadcast organizations provide comparable airtime to political candidates during an election period. Carr suggested that NBC may have violated this rule if it did not extend an invitation to former President Donald Trump or other candidates.

"This is a clear and blatant effort to evade the FCC's Equal Time rule," Carr posted on X. “The purpose of the rule is to avoid exactly this type of biased and partisan conduct - a licensed broadcaster using the public airwaves to exert its influence for one candidate on the eve of an election. Unless the broadcaster offered Equal Time to other qualifying campaigns.”

Harris’ appearance on SNL featured her alongside comedian Maya Rudolph, who has impersonated the vice president on the show in the past. The skit was part of the episode’s cold open and lasted just under three minutes. 

Federal law does not require networks to provide identical airtime but mandates “comparable time and placement” for candidates. Earlier this month, SNL executive producer Lorne Michaels noted the limitations imposed by election laws, emphasizing that the show cannot host active presidential candidates without adhering to the equal time rule.

“You can’t bring the actual people who are running on because of election laws and the equal time provisions,” Michaels previously told The Hollywood Reporter. “You can’t have the main candidates without having all the candidates, and there are lots of minor candidates that are only on the ballot in, like, three states and that becomes really complicated.”

Fox News reported that Trump campaign senior advisor Jason Miller confirmed the former president did not receive an invitation to appear on SNL. Additionally, NBC News noted that an SNL spokesperson did not respond to a request for comment on whether Trump had been invited to participate.

Harris' SNL segment also drew criticism from online users who pointed out comparisons to a 2015 skit featuring Trump and Jimmy Fallon, in which Trump engaged in a comedic dialogue with Fallon impersonating him in a similar fashion.