Verizon (NYSE: VK) announced in September that it would acquire the internet service provider Frontier Communications (NASDAQ: FYBR) in an all-cash deal valued at $20 billion. Today on CNBC, President Trump’s FCC Chair Brendan Carr was asked if he would potentially block the merger because of DEI policy.
As seen below, Carr replied: “Yeah, of course, we’ve been working with Verizon now, I think we have that in pretty good shape. I hope to see some progress on that in the next few weeks.”
CNBC: Will you potentially block the Verizon merger with Frontier Communications because of DEI policy?
FCC COMMISSIONER BRENDAN CARR: Yeah. Of course … I’ve told everybody that if they want to get a deal done before the FCC, they need to get rid of any invidious forms of… pic.twitter.com/Rxd74GfEjn
— Aaron Rupar (@atrupar) May 5, 2025
Carr added: “But I’ve told everybody that if they want a deal done before the FCC, they need to get rid of any invidious forms of discrimination.” He added, “We can’t approve of a transaction unless we find it’s in the public’s interest.”
The corporate website of Verizon still has a section dedicated to diversity and inclusion, which highlights at least 10 employee resource groups that “provide a forum for professional and personal development, celebrating diversity and solving unique business challenges across Verizon’s diverse customer base.”
Verizon also boasts that 60.3% of its U.S.-based workforce composed of women and minorities; 7 of its 11 board members are women or racially or ethnically diverse; and that it has spent a total of $54.3B with diverse suppliers in the last 10 years.
Note: Two other mega media/telecom mergers are in the pipeline. Paramount and Skydance ($8 billion) and T-Mobile and US Cellular ($4.4 billion) will face regulatory scrutiny before their mergers are complete.