By Isabella Torregiani
1:54pm PDT, Jul 25, 2025
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Senator Elizabeth Warren isn't holding back when it comes to the newly approved $8 billion Paramount-Skydance merger. Following the Federal Communications Commission's green light, Warren slammed the deal as "illegal bribery."
Keep reading for more on what she had to say…MORE:
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Elizabeth Warren is leading the charge among political leaders speaking out against the merger. Taking to
X, she laid out her concerns, claiming, "President Donald Trump's government just approved Paramount's merger with Skydance. Sure looks like they paid Donald Trump $36 million for this merger. … Bribery is illegal no matter who is president." Warren went on to suggest the deal may involve "corruption," citing a series of reasons behind her claim.
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Elizabeth Warren began by pointing to the recent cancellation of Stephen Colbert's show. "Maybe you saw that Stephen Colbert's show was canceled last week. Well, just three days before it was canceled, Colbert called out President Donald Trump and Paramount, which is CBS's parent company, for making a deal that looks like a quote, 'big fat bribe.' Those were his words. … Trump filed a sham lawsuit against CBS, but instead of fighting it, CBS's parent company Paramount paid Trump $16 million to his future presidential library. So you got to ask, why'd Paramount do that if the suit was quote, 'meritless?' Well, maybe because they needed Trump to approve their multi-billion dollar merger, which Trump just did."
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Beyond the alleged bribery, Elizabeth Warren argued the merger is simply bad for consumers — potentially driving up the cost of streaming TV, movies and sports content. Wrapping up her statement, she called for immediate action. "I'm calling for an urgent independent investigation into this Paramount deal to see if this was actually bribery. And make no mistake, these CEOs may think that they can get away with anything they want, but they are not immune from the law. Bribery is still illegal." Leaving with one final warning, she claimed, "None of us can stay silent about this — because you better believe Donald Trump isn't stopping here."
