Congressional Democrats are denouncing the Trump administration’s threats against political critics in the strongest terms, saying that it strikes at the fundamental right to free speech. A group of senators have unveiled a bill that would bolster free speech protections against government officials. Though the legislation is unlikely to gain traction in the Republican-controlled Congress, Democrats at the news conference harshly criticized the Trump administration for pressuring ABC towards the suspension of Jimmy Kimmel’s show after his comments on the fatal shooting of Charlie Kirk. Since his inauguration, President Donald Trump has used threats, lawsuits and government pressure as he remakes the American media landscape, unleashing his long-standing grievances against the industry. He has extracted multimillion dollar settlements, forced companies into costly litigation and prompted changes to programming that he found objectionable. In his latest victory, ABC announced on Wednesday that the Jimmy Kimmel show would be taken off the air for the comedian's comments about the assassination of conservative activist Charlie Kirk. Kimmel's remarks included references to the suspect's disputed political ideology. Hours before ABC’s decision, Brendan Carr, Trump’s handpicked head of the Federal Communications Commission, warned that the broadcaster and its local affiliates could face repercussions if Kimmel was not punished.