The Biden administration’s choice to fill an open Democratic seat on the FCC has been in Senate confirmation limbo for months, failing to garner enough support to allow Vice President Kamala Harris to cast the tie-breaking vote. The confirmation hurdle Gigi Sohn faces isn’t just the GOP in a 50-50 Senate, according to Fox.
Her positions have spooked moderate Democrats running in tight races in this year’s midterms. They continue to balk at casting a “yes” vote for Sohn, thus forcing the White House to keep her nomination on ice, notes Fox.
In recent weeks, at the urging of progressive advocates of Sohn, the White House has been discussing possibly pushing the vote until after the midterms. That might give wavering Democrats cover to vote for her confirmation in a lame duck session, Fox has reported.
But amid that discussion, the White House is also contacting other candidates as part of an early-stage vetting process if the administration decides to pull the plug on Sohn, according to one source with direct knowledge of the matter. It’s unclear if the White House will go through with pursuing another candidate at this time, according to Fox sources. The FCC is deadlocked 2-2 between GOP and Democratic appointees.
If the White House doesn’t pick a candidate soon and the GOP takes the Senate, the deadlock could remain for the extent of President Biden’s term, thwarting his telecommunication policy, including a reprise of net neutrality, which essentially treats internet providers as utilities. The Biden administration has vowed to reinstall net neutrality if it can get a majority of votes on the Commission, Inside Towers reported.
The White House and Sohn had no comment. “It’s not clear who will win this one,” said one FCC official speaking on the condition of anonymity.
Sohn has had a long career and several positions as a telecom advocate, government official and academic. During the Obama administration, Sohn was one of the chief architects of net neutrality, a cornerstone of progressive telecom policy, which was reversed under the Trump-era FCC.
But getting a majority with Sohn has been an uphill battle, given some of her positions on telecom policies and other issues. For example, she has criticized Fox News and said conservative broadcaster Sinclair might not be qualified for an FCC license, raising doubts among GOP lawmakers about whether she can follow administrative law as a primarily impartial FCC commission.
Sohn has said multiple times she can be impartial as an FCC Commissioner and would recuse herself from some issues.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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