Finally. After months of questioning from across Washington, D.C., the White House on Tuesday formally nominated Jessica Rosenworcel to serve as the first woman to officially serve as Chair of the FCC. At the same time, President Biden selected Gigi Sohn to serve as a Democratic Commissioner.
While Sohn’s nomination will certainly trigger Republican opposition, Democrats in the District of Columbia were pleased to learn of Sohn’s selection.
House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone Jr. (D-N.J.), a “Net Neutrality” champion and a chief antagonist of former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, commended President Biden for nominating “these outstanding leaders.”
With these selections, including that of Alan Davidson to serve as Assistant Secretary for Communications and Information at the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), a return of “Net Neutrality” will now be a chief desire of the Biden White House come 2023.
As Pallone sees it, their confirmation means the FCC “will be fully equipped to reinstate Title II oversight and net neutrality for broadband providers, continue its work to close the digital divide, and ensure broadband is affordable for all.”
The long-awaited announcement, Pallone adds, “will also ensure leadership is in place at the NTIA for the important issues that agency faces, including spectrum management and implementation of the historic broadband infrastructure investment included in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.”
Regarding Rosenworcel, Pallone said she is “an exceptional choice to continue leading the FCC. The Acting Chair has been a consummate public servant with a deep understanding of the challenges before the Commission and a passion for solving them.”
Also commending Rosenworcel’s selection by President Biden: Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.). She saluted Biden for the pick, along with the nomination of Sohn, who will serve as the first openly LGBTIQ+ Commissioner of the FCC if approved by Congress. “Rosenworcel and Sohn are brilliant champions for innovation, public safety, national security, universal broadband, net neutrality, and social justice,” Eshoo said.
Eshoo led a letter on February 22 signed by over 30 Democratic Congresswomen urging the White House to nominate Rosenworcel to FCC Chair. Eight months later, he responded to the request.
Regarding Sohn, Pallone calls her “a devoted public advocate whose career has centered around ensuring that the public interest is at the core of the FCC’s thinking.”
Paired with current Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, “they will make an excellent team,” Pallone said.
Starks had his own positive words for Sohn. “In Gigi Sohn, President Biden has identified an accomplished leader whose talent, expertise and experience will invigorate our work at the FCC,” he said. “Protecting consumers, advancing national security, promoting diverse media and making modern communications networks accessible and affordable for every American are enormous tasks that require a full-strength FCC. I look forward to working with Gigi.”
That’s, of course, assuming Sohn’s nomination gets Senate approval, which is not a sure thing given her stance on Title II broadband classification under FCC rules.
