A prominent Republican senator has joined the Democrats in criticising threats made by the government of the United States against Disney and local broadcasters for airing Jimmy Kimmel Live.

Ted Cruz, who leads oversight of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), said on Friday that FCC chair Brendan Carr’s threat to take regulatory action against networks over the content of their shows sets a dangerous precedent.

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Speaking on his podcast, Cruz labelled Carr’s comments “dangerous as hell” and something “right out of Goodfellas”, referring to Martin Scorsese’s iconic gangster movie.

“That’s right out of a mafioso coming into a bar going, ‘Nice bar you have here. It would be a shame if something happened to it’,” Cruz said.

Carr had threatened to fine broadcasters or pull the licences of those who aired Jimmy Kimmel Live on Wednesday, prompting television network ABC – which is owned by Disney – to suspend the late-night talk show.

The owners of dozens of local TV stations affiliated with ABC also said they would no longer air the show.

Carr’s threat came in response to the host’s opening monologue on Monday discussing the murder of Charlie Kirk – a friend and political ally of the president – which caused uproar among President Donald Trump’s supporters.

“We hit some new lows over the weekend with the MAGA gang desperately trying to characterise this kid who murdered Charlie Kirk as anything other than one of them, and doing everything they can to score political points from it,” Kimmel said, speaking of 22-year-old Tyler Robinson.

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Cruz’s criticism of Carr marks a rare example of a prominent member of Trump’s own party publicly criticising his administration, highlighting deepening bipartisan concerns over attacks on free speech.

“We shouldn’t be threatening government power to force him off air,” Cruz said on his podcast. “It might feel good right now to threaten Jimmy Kimmel, but when it is used to silence every conservative in America, we will regret it,” he added.

Trump, however, said he disagreed with Cruz and called Carr “an incredible American patriot with courage”.

Trump has himself slammed Kimmel’s Kirk monologue, while he also suggested on Thursday that broadcasters critical of his administration should have their FCC-issued licences revoked.

“I’m a very strong person for free speech,” he told reporters at the Oval Office on Friday, when asked to clarify his earlier comments.

But he continued that broadcasters were so critical of him that they represent an extension of the Democratic Party, something he said was “really illegal”.

“That’s no longer free speech … That’s just cheating, and they cheat,” he said.

Prominent Democrats and civil rights groups have condemned the Trump administration’s pressure to punish Kimmel and networks that air his show.

Democrat and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer said Carr is “one of the single greatest threats to free speech America has ever known”, as he called for him to resign or for Trump to fire him.

Democratic lawmakers in the House of Representatives on Friday also asked the FCC’s inspector general to investigate Carr’s actions and comments.

The future of Jimmy Kimmel Live remains unclear and Kimmel is yet to publicly comment on his suspension.