Brendan Carr, whose office regulates the broadcast TV industry, previously defended the agency’s status as an independent body.

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr, testifying Wednesday before a Senate committee, said the regulatory body is not an independent government agency — a position that counters his previous public statements and the office’s own website.

In an exchange with Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., Carr said the FCC is “not formally an independent agency” because, he said, commissioners can be removed by the president.