The Chief Telecommunications Counsel to the Senate Commerce Committee is headed back to the FCC, this time to run the Space Bureau, where Chairman Brendan Carr says she will play a key role in advancing America’s leadership in connectivity, technology, and national security.
Courtney Reinhard rejoins the Commission after about 15 years on Capitol Hill and a stint in the wireless industry. Before working for Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Tex.). Before that, she was Vice President of Federal Government Relations at Verizon.
Her Hill career began in the House offices of Reps. Brian Bilbray (R-CA), Gary Miller (R-CA), and John Shimkus (R-IL). She went on to advise Sens. Sam Brownback (R-KS) and Jim DeMint (R-SC) on Commerce, Science and Transportation issues, and served as Telecommunications & Technology Counsel for the House Energy and Commerce Committee and as Counsel and Budget Analyst for the House Budget Committee.
At the FCC, Reinhard was Wireless Legal Advisor to then-Commissioner Ajit Pai and later Chief of Staff and Senior Legal Advisor to then-Commissioner Michael O’Rielly. She holds an undergraduate degree from the University of California at Davis and a J.D. from the George Mason University Antonin Scalia School of Law.
Carr said, “Courtney will excel in this role as she leads our great Space Bureau team.”
He also pointed to the bureau’s recent track record, saying, “Our work to boost America’s space economy has been a remarkable success with modernized space rules for the 21st Century, an efficient ‘assembly line’ approach to streamlining space licensing, and a massive reduction in the backlog of applications. Courtney and the Space Bureau team are already well on the way to a successful mission at the FCC and ensuring that America leads in the final frontier.”
