Republican opposition to an FCC nominee could let Sens. Joe Manchin (D-WV) and Kyrsten Sinema (D-AZ) decide whether Biden secures a Democratic majority at the agency. At stake are Democrats’ hopes for a majority on the five-member FCC, which has been mired in a 2-2 partisan split for all of President Joe Biden’s term. That in turn will determine whether the agency can get to work on progressives’ telecom priorities.
If the Senate fails to act by the end of the year, Republicans will hold the FCC’s majority in January, Inside Towers reported. President Joe Biden ended months of suspense last week by announcing two Democratic picks for the FCC, nominating Chair Jessica Rosenworcel for a new five-year term on the Commission and activist Gigi Sohn to fill its open seat.
Republican senators largely told Politico they can live with Rosenworcel — but GOP leaders say they’re drawing the line at Sohn and her perceived regulatory bent. And they’re not on board with Democrats’ push to rush the confirmations through.
“Sohn, obviously, her views are going to be very far apart from where mine are on all the issues,” Senate Minority Whip John Thune told Politico. “She’s very left, she’s going to be a heavy hand in regulation, very heavy in net neutrality. She’s going to be very much, I think, Big Government stepping on the scales,” the South Dakota Republican added.
Democrats could still ram through Sohn’s confirmation even in the face of unified Republican opposition, but only if their entire caucus sticks together. Manchin and Sinema are on record as backing Rosenworcel. But neither has said a word on Sohn, a former top adviser at the Obama-era FCC and co-founder of advocacy group Public Knowledge. Sinema has historically joined Republicans in fights over FCC policies, according to the account. Spokespeople for both Manchin and Sinema declined to comment on Sohn.
Democrats have little floor time to get the nominations through by year’s end. That’s because Rosenworcel’s term has expired. Unless the Senate confirms her before adjourning in December, she must leave the Commission. If that happens, and Sohn doesn’t join the FCC, Republicans would assume a 2-1 advantage in the new year.
Under that scenario, Democrats would remain in charge of the agency, with lone Democrat Geoffrey Starks filling in as acting chair and able to set the agenda at commission meetings. But he would be unable to overcome Republican opposition to enacting Biden’s more progressive goals, such as net neutrality rules that would prohibit ISPs from blocking or throttling consumers’ internet traffic.
Sohn’s nomination is “more problematic” for Republicans than Rosenworcel’s, said Senate Commerce Committee Ranking Member Roger Wicker (R-MS). The committee will vet both nominees. He said Sohn’s past statements and positions “could prove to be of concern to members of the committee.”
In contrast, Republicans largely seem open to Rosenworcel and suggest her nomination could move faster than Sohn’s. “I know Rosenworcel both from when she worked on the committee and her work on the FCC,” Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO), a senior member of the Senate Commerce Committee, told Politico. “I’m inclined to vote for her.”
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