UPDATE How will President Trump’s decision to place federal agencies, including the FCC, under more strict oversight affect your business at the agency? New Street Research Policy Advisor Blair Levin addresses what NSR believes the impact could be.
Inside Towers reported the Executive Order requires the FCC to submit draft regulations to the White House for review and requires the agency be subject to White House set performance standards. It provides that the President and the Attorney General will interpret the law for the executive branch, instead of having separate agencies adopt conflicting interpretations.
What are the implications of this order for the FCC policy process during this Trump term? Levin says the order is unlikely to change FCC telecom and tech policy. “As to every proceeding regarding the telecom and tech sector that the FCC is likely to act upon during the Trump/Carr tenure, we think Carr is highly likely to do whatever the White House would want him to do,” Levin writes in a client note. Carr seems pretty plugged into the issues White House cares about and will likely act “according to what he believes they want,” explains Levin.
But the Executive Order will add time to every FCC process. “While the Executive Order talks about ‘regulations’ it is not clear whether that means that every Commission decision must be pre-cleared by the White House or simply final decisions that impose regulations. However the White House and FCC interpret it, it is inevitable that it will add time to every important action,” he explains.
“The Order will add political uncertainty to FCC decisions, he believes. Currently, the majority commissioners line up behind the Chair, while the minority commissioners agree or dissent. Adding the White House to the mix adds a level of uncertainty, as the relevant players, particularly the National Economic Council and the National Security Council, do not have the same level of expertise as the FCC,” Levin states.
Overall, the order “further” diminishes the FCC’s authority, NSR believes. “The Supreme Court,” through previous decisions, “has already shifted legal authority away from the FCC and towards the courts,” the policy expert explains. Concerning telecom and tech, “while legal and political battles will follow in the Executive Order’s wake, the impact on investors will be more about timing and uncertainty than substance,” Levin writes.
By Leslie Stimson, Inside Towers Washington Bureau Chief
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