Here’s what a Democratic-controlled Congress could do to protect press freedom

Congressional investigations could put the administration’s attacks on the press under scrutiny, while bipartisan legislation offers a path to reform

Less than 48 hours after it became apparent that Democrats would take both chambers of Congress, Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) emailed the Federal Communications Commission, demanding records for an investigation into attacks on the First Amendment.

That investigation, led by Democratic senators on a Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs subcommittee, was looking into how President Donald Trump’s and the FCC’s actions “erode and undermine freedom of speech and freedom of the press and bear on the laws governing media consolidation,” Blumenthal wrote in the email.