Later in the hearing, Pai was given another opportunity to answer the question by Sen. Maggie Hassan, the New Hampshire Democrat, who noted Pai's past comment that "anyone who has the privilege of serving at the FCC—any preacher with a pulpit, if you will—has the duty to speak out whenever Americans' First Amendment rights are at stake.""If you're an outspoken defender of the free press, that should be a pretty easy question for you."
In his 2016 dissent on the Commission's media ownership order, then-Commissioner Pai said:
"Of course, newspaper reporters continue to do important work throughout our country each and every day. Many were recently reminded of the impact that their stories can have through the 2015 film Spotlight, which won the Academy Award for Best Picture. The movie focused on The Boston Globe's investigation into widespread child sex abuse by Roman Catholic priests in and around Boston—reporting that ended up having a worldwide impact on the Catholic Church. But given the newspaper industry's profound financial troubles, it is becoming harder and harder for publications to do this type of investigatory journalism, hold our elected officials to account, and let Americans know what is going on in their communities."
It's worth noting that this response does not constitute a direct answer to the question of whether Pai shares Trump's view that the news media is "the enemy of the American people."Subscribe to pluspluspodcast , Motherboard's new show about the people and machines that are building our future.Chairman Pai continues to believe that. Chairman Pai is a strong supporter of the First Amendment rights of the media and all Americans. He has protected those rights at the FCC and will continue to do so as long as he is privileged to serve at the Commission.