President Trump’s Federal Communications Commission Chair, Brendan Carr, is being called out by former agency chairs and commissioners for what they perceive as the weaponization of his role. According to Deadline, a bipartisan group is calling for Carr to revoke a “news distortion” rule, which they claim he’s abusing to target media entities that cover Trump in a certain light. The petition was filed by advocacy groups Protect Democracy and Tech Freedom.

According to Deadline, the policy itself can only be enacted under “a significant event and not merely a minor or incidental aspect of the news report.” Historically, it has targeted intentional manipulation, not simple errors or an opposing opinion.

Deadline reports the policy is rarely used — a total of eight times in the last 60 years. Since Carr’s ascension as chair, there have been several cases in which he’s invoked the policy to attack TV organizations for simply covering the administration. The Trump-fueled ire has been pointed at ABC News, CBS’s 60 Minutes, and, most recently, ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live!, after the shooting death of Charlie Kirk.

According to Deadline, the list of those signing the petition to eliminate the rule includes chairmen from the Reagan administration, Mark Fowler and Dennis Patrick; President George H. W. Bush’s Alfred Sikes; and President Obama’s Tom Wheeler. The group has cited a Supreme Court decision, Moody vs. NetChoice, that argues the FCC and the government as a whole have no right to influence private broadcasters’ speech to fit their own narrative. They call the FCC’s acts a direct violation of the First Amendment.

“The current leadership of the Commission is using the news distortion policy to directly advance the interests of the White House,” the group stated via Deadline. They assert that “the Commission has reopened and threatened to open news distortion investigations into broadcasters simply because the Chairman disapproves of their coverage as biased or allegedly ‘false.’ This pattern of escalating attacks demonstrates just how sweeping and dangerous the expansive powers claimed under the news distortion policy are.”

While many of the complaints filed have not been ruled upon, Deadline reports that the group believes the mere filing and warnings from Carr will push news organizations to construct coverage that matches the government’s agenda. They used the recent departure of 60 Minutes executive producer Bill Owens as an example. Owens cited that he left because he could “no longer make independent decisions based on what was right for” programming and viewers. His departure came as the FCC prepared to approve CBS’s parent company’s merger with Skydane, which many on Capitol Hill believed was a quid pro quo arrangement.

Deadline reports Anna Gomez, the FCC’s only Democrat member, released a statement: “The Communications Act forbids the Commission from censoring broadcasters, and the First Amendment protects journalistic choices from government intimidation. Nevertheless, this FCC has deployed a vague and ineffective News Distortion policy as a weapon to stretch its licensing authority and pressure newsrooms.”

In addition to these complaints, the FCC has targeted networks for allegedly holding policies focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Investigations were held at Disney and NBCUniversal.