It’s official.
Despite vocal opposition from such Senate Republicans as Mitch McConnell and John Thune, the FCC has its first official woman to serve as its Chair.
In a Roll Call vote convened by the full Senate at 11:30am Tuesday, Jessica Rosenworcel‘s nomination to remain a Member of the FCC — allowing her to remove the “acting” title from her business cards — was approved.
It was hardly smooth sailing for Rosenworcel, who has already exited the Commission once, only to be nominated by former President Trump in a move allowing her to return to the agency.
Rosenworcel’s new five-year term is retroactive to July 1, 2020; by law, Commissioners can remain in their roles until the end of a Congressional session, should a new term not be in place by the expiry date of the previous term.
The final vote: Yea 68, Nay 31.
Late Monday, the Senate invoked cloture on Rosenworcel’s nomination, meaning debate ended and a vote was teed up. It did so in a 64-27 vote, indicating some 27 Republican Senators weren’t done debating Rosenworcel’s role on the Commission. The fact that there was debate over Rosenworcel is noteworthy in and of itself, as her nomination was expected to be a smooth as silk.
The road became marred with potholes and speed bumps once President Biden’s choice to take the fifth seat on the Federal Communications Commission became public. That would be “Net Neutrality” advocate Gigi Sohn, who as expected has garnered vocal opposition from Republican members of the U.S. Senate.
With Sohn’s nomination at high risk of a block or even a “No” vote, one key GOP leader in the upper body of Congress voiced his opposition to the nomination of the acting Chairwoman to serve a new five-year term. South Dakota Senator John Thune, the Ranking Member of the Subcommittee on Communications, Media, and Broadband, on Monday released a formal statement in opposition to the nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel.
In explaining his opposition to Rosenworcel, Thune said, “I’ve said for years that the Internet should remain open and free, and any attempt by the FCC to use Title II to create net neutrality restrictions would turn it into a government-regulated utility and stifle our nation’s dynamic and robust e-commerce sector. During her nomination hearing, Acting Chairwoman Rosenworcel reiterated her position that the FCC should reinstate Obama-era net neutrality regulations, which will once again lead to legal and marketplace uncertainty. For that reason, I oppose her nomination.”
Among other Republican Senators opposing Rosenworcel — Mitch McConnell.
With Rosenworcel’s “yes” vote, a potentially unthinkable scenario — a 2-1 Republican majority at the FCC during a Democratic presidential term — has been erased. However, a long-term 2-2 deadlock at the FCC is very much a realistic scenario extending well into 2022.
Had Rosenworcel not received the “yes” vote, she would have no choice but to pack up her office — again — and await, for a second time, a possible return to the Commission. It sets the stage for Brendan Carr to lead a three-member body, with Geoffrey Starks the lone Democrat and Nathan Simington the second Republican. Such talk had been nothing more than Inside the Beltway coffee talk. But, as the weeks progressed, something that many including Fletcher Heald & Hildreth Partner Francisco Montero thought was unthinkable had emerged as a truly realistic possibility.
National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President/CEO Gordon Smith, a former Senate Republican, was among the first to offer his congratulations to Rosenworcel “and her historic appointment as chair.” He called her “a dedicated public servant who has demonstrated effective leadership and expertise on telecommunications issues during her tenure at the FCC. We look forward to continuing to work with her and her fellow commissioners on ensuring a vibrant future for free and local broadcasting.”
APTS president and CEO Patrick Butler added, “Today marks an important landmark in the history of the FCC. “Commissioner Rosenworcel’s Senate confirmation … means this remarkable public servant has become the first woman to permanently chair the FCC.”
Butler added that Rosenworcel “brings rich experience, expertise and leadership skills to the work of setting the nation’s telecommunications policies, and America’s Public Television Stations look forward to working with the Chairwoman and the Commission to advance public television’s missions of education, public safety and civic leadership.”
Now, with Rosenworcel already receiving praise for becoming the first female Chair of the FCC (Mignon Clyburn previously served as an acting Chairwoman), it is clear that the road ahead is likely to be bumpy.
How the Senate acts on Sohn could very much determine if the bumps will get worse, or disappear.
