Biden Nominates Rosenworcel For FCC Chair
• President Biden has formally nominated Jessica Rosenworcel, the acting Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), to the permanent post, putting her on track to become the first woman to lead the agency. Biden has also nominated Gigi Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate who served as counselor to former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler during President Obama‘s second term, to fill the seat on the five-member commission that Ms. Rosenworcel vacated when she became the acting Chairwoman.
Rosenworcel (left), the senior Democrat on the Commission, was named as acting Chair in January after the departure of previous FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a Trump appointee. As the New York Times reports, “The nomination reflects the Biden administration’s commitment to restoring net neutrality rules, which promote competition in part by barring internet providers from blocking certain content, slowing its delivery or letting clients pay more to have it delivered faster. The FCC adopted the rules during the Obama administration but rolled them back under the Trump administration. Sohn is currently a Distinguished Fellow at Georgetown Law Institute for Technology & Policy and a Sr. Fellow & Public Advocate at the Benton Institute For Broadband & Society.
In response to the nominations of Rosenworcel and Sohn, NAB President & CEO Gordon Smith issued the following statement: “NAB congratulates Jessica Rosenworcel on her nomination as Chairwoman of the Federal Communications Commission. As the first woman nominated as permanent chair, this marks a significant milestone at the Commission and a fitting progression in her long and distinguished career in public service. NAB also extends congratulations to Gigi Sohn on her nomination to the Commission. We look forward to working with the full Commission on how the FCC can ensure a thriving local broadcast industry.”
Brendan Carr, the senior Republican member of the Commission, also released a statement that reads, “I want to extend my congratulations to Chairwoman Rosenworcel on her designation as Chair of the FCC and on her nomination by the White House to serve another five-year term. I also want to extend my congratulations to Gigi Sohn on her nomination to serve on the Commission. During the past ten months, under the leadership of Chairwoman Rosenworcel, I have enjoyed the chance to work in a bipartisan manner to advance the public interest, and I look forward to the opportunity to continue this important work with my FCC colleagues.”
Prior to joining the FCC in 2012, Rosenworcel served as Sr. Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator Daniel Inouye. Before entering public service, Rosenworcel practiced communications law in Washington, DC. A native of Hartford, CT, Rosenworcel is a graduate of Wesleyan University and the NYU School of Law.
Both positions must now be confirmed by the Senate, which could get ugly, a process more politely described by the Times as “a process plagued by delays and political gamesmanship.”
