Biden tries to end 2 years of deadlock at FCC by renominating Gigi Sohn
President Joe Biden yesterday renominated Gigi Sohn to the long-empty fifth spot on the Federal Communications Commission in hopes that the Senate will finally give Democrats a 3-2 FCC majority.
The FCC has been deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans for Biden’s entire presidency so far. He first nominated Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate and former FCC official, on October 26, 2021.
The full Senate never voted on whether to confirm Sohn as an FCC commissioner. Republicans vocally opposed her, and Democratic leaders seemingly weren’t able to line up support from more conservative party members such as Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).
Sohn’s chances are better now that Democrats have a 51-49 majority (including three independents who caucus with Democrats). There was previously a 50-50 split, with Vice President Kamala Harris giving Democrats a tiebreaker on party-line votes.
“Senate buckled to industry pressure”
“Industry gatekeepers and big-money opposition have done their part to stall Ms. Sohn’s confirmation because they know a fully functional FCC would hold them accountable for engaging in discriminatory and anticompetitive practices,” former FCC Commissioner Michael Copps, now special adviser to advocacy group Common Cause, said yesterday.
“No other nominee in the FCC’s history has had to wait so long for a confirmation vote, and none have been better qualified to serve the needs of the public,” CEO Craig Aaron of advocacy group Free Press said. “But the Senate buckled to industry pressure and kept her in limbo for more than a year.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and other Republicans claimed Sohn would use a post at the FCC to censor conservatives—despite executives at conservative news networks Newsmax and One America News Network supporting Sohn’s nomination and praising her longtime commitment to free speech.
Sohn faced further criticism from Republicans and the National Association of Broadcasters for being a former board member at Locast, a nonprofit online TV service that shut down after losing a copyright case launched by major broadcast networks. Separately, Comcast apparently lobbied against Sohn behind the scenes despite not publicly opposing the nomination.
“Industry spent millions of dollars on astroturf groups to repeatedly misrepresent Sohn’s record in the media and on Capitol Hill. They’ve lied repeatedly about her record and principles,” Aaron said.
Sohn co-founded consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge in 2001 and led the organization until taking a position as counselor for then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in 2013. If Sohn is confirmed, she could help revive the net neutrality rules and common-carrier broadband regulations that were implemented under Wheeler and later repealed during the Trump era.
FCC chair hopes to finally get a majority
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel said that “Gigi is a knowledgeable nominee with a long record of commitment to the issues before the FCC… I look forward to the day we have a full complement of five commissioners.” Despite leading the FCC without a majority for two years, Rosenworcel said she’s proud of the agency’s work on “closing the Homework Gap, broadband access and affordability, telehealth, mapping, and network security.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) issued a press release supporting Sohn’s confirmation. “Gigi Sohn will be a strong, effective voice and vote for the public interest, and a key to breaking the FCC’s current deadlock. She is indisputably qualified, and unstintingly dedicated, winning her support across the political spectrum,” Blumenthal said.
A swift Senate vote was urged by the Communications Workers of America, a union for workers at telecoms such as AT&T, Lumen/Centurylink, Frontier, and Windstream. “We are in a critical period of increased federal investment in broadband networks and digital equity initiatives, and the FCC has gone for too long without a fully seated commission. Continued delay on this nomination is inexcusable and only benefits large corporations who wish to avoid oversight and accountability,” the group said.
“During the T-Mobile/Sprint merger, Sohn was a key ally in the fight to protect the jobs of the working families who ultimately ended up being harmed by the merger,” the CWA also said.
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