On Friday (9/11), the Chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee revealed that it would hold a nomination hearing this Thursday for the woman nominated by President Trump to serve as a FCC Commissioner. Evidently, Ted Cruz didn’t factor in the very real possibility that Danielle Thumann Severs may not be available to appear on Capitol Hill, given her stage of pregnancy.
Late Monday, it became known that Severs has given birth, prompting a postponement of her all-important job interview with Congress. The news was first shared by Reuters FCC-focused Washington correspondent David Shephardson, who was told of Severs’ delivery of a baby by a Senate aide.
This puts Severs on maternity leave, with a rescheduling of her nomination hearing to be determined.
Severs is a young technocrat on the rise. Today, she advises Chairman Brendan Carr on FCC matters before the Wireline Bureau; the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau; and the Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau.
Her nomination by President Trump to be a Commissioner on the FCC is for a term of five years, retroactive from July 1, 2024. It is the seat last held by Republican Nathan Simington, who decided to leave the FCC early over reported acrimony regarding the selection of Carr by President Trump as Chairman.
Severs is in her second stint on the FCC. She rejoined then-Commissioner Carr’s Office in August 2024, after working in the private sector on government relations matters for a nationwide telecommunications infrastructure provider. She previously served as Legal Advisor in Commissioner Carr’s Office from March 2021 until July 2023. Before that, she worked as a communications attorney in the Washington, D.C. office of Wilkinson Barker Knauer, home to such noted lawyers as David Oxenford and Davina Sashkin.
Severs, 34, is also one of three key individuals at the FCC, including Carr himself, who hold a J.D. from Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law.
The committee which maintains oversight of the FCC in the U.S. Senate will also be postponing consideration of President Trump’s nomination of Leslie Becera to serve as Asst. Secretary of Transportation, opting to hold debate and discussion concurrent to that of Severs at a future date.
Thumann’s nomination was sent from the White House to the Senate on August 7, at which time she said, “I am deeply humbled and honored by President Trump’s nomination to serve in this role. I look forward to the Senate confirmation process and, if confirmed, to serving our country with dedication and gratitude.”
Severs’ nomination in the midst of a contentious midterm election season could prove to be the ultimate GOP loyalty test to Republican Senators: If Congress approves the nomination, it potentially creates a 3-0 Republican majority with a potential firing of lone Democrat Anna Gómez. At the same time, Democrats could use the nomination hearing to vehemently request that President Trump fill out the FCC with a fifth nominee, bringing three Republicans and two Democrats to an agency short of its statutory maximum Commissioners for months.
