April 28 (UPI) — The Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday ordered an early review of Disney’s broadcast licenses with ABC stations, with officials saying it’s part of an investigation into those stations for alleged “unlawful discrimination” having to do with diversity, equity and inclusion.

This comes as President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump are calling for ABC TV host and comedian Jimmy Kimmel to be punished for jokes made about the Trumps and others. Trump and his administration have attacked Kimmel before for his remarks. On Monday, Melania Trump criticized Kimmel for his “hateful and violent rhetoric,” while White House Communication Director Steven Cheung urged ABC to fire him.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has said before that he will investigate Disney policies around diversity, equity and inclusion, The Washington Post reported. The order notes the FCC has the authority to call broadcast licenses in for early renewal.

“Doing so both allows the FCC to conduct its ongoing investigation and enables the FCC to ensure that the broadcaster has been meeting its public interest obligations more broadly,” the order said.

The latest in the Trump administration’s ire with Kimmel started last week, when the comedian made remarks about the then-upcoming White House correspondents’ dinner, noting that Trump, who has skipped all prior dinners, would attend this year. Pretending to host the dinner, Kimmel said as if to Melania Trump, “Mrs. Trump, you have a glow like an expectant widow.”

Two days later, a gunman opened fire at the dinner, an event that federal law enforcement officials say was an assassination attempt on Trump. Kimmel said on his show Monday that the joke was meant to be one about the Trumps’ age difference, “not by any stretch of the definition a call to assassination. And they know that. I’ve been very vocal for many years speaking out against gun violence, in particular.”

Carr has threatened Disney and its licenses over Kimmel before. His show was suspended for a week last year after comments he made about conservative Charlie Kirk’s death, but Disney and ABC eventually returned him to the air after a public outcry.

Carr has also attacked Disney’s diversity, equity and inclusion policies in the past. In an interview released Tuesday, The Washington Post reported, Carr said that the FCC can accelerate reviews in cases where there are questions about conduct.

“I’d be surprised if we ultimately don’t go down the path of license revocation for some, but it will be up to them and their own conduct,” he said.

A Disney representative said the company received the order and will fight it, The Washington Post reported. The representative said the company is “confident that the record demonstrates our continued qualifications as licensees under the Communications Act and the First Amendment.”

The Washington Post also reported that the order drew outrage from various press advocates. Jameel Jaffer, executive director at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University, said the FCC has no authority to threaten licenses based on political viewpoints and that Trump is trying to consolidate control over what Americans see in the media.

“It would be difficult to imagine an outcome more corrosive to democracy or more offensive to the First Amendment,” he said.