Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and other critics say the commission is not doing enough to respond to the crisis in Puerto Rico and the recent hurricanes in Texas and Florida.
The Senate on Thursday confirmed Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Brendan Carr for seats on the FCC but did not yet reconfirm GOP Chairman Ajit Pai to another term.
During a hearing on Wednesday, members of the Senate Commerce Committee voted to approve the confirmations of Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Brendan Carr as FCC commissioners. Current Republican FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s reconfirmation to the FCC was also approved by lawmakers. The trio’s confirmations will proceed to a Senate-wide vote
Democratic senators didn’t hold back during Wednesday morning’s FCC nomination hearing before the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, taking aim at Republican nominee Brendan Carr and FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, who is seeking reappointment. The same treatment didn’t extend to Democratic nominee Jessica Rosenworcel, who awaits confirmation for her second term as an FCC commissioner.
Senators will get to work this week on President Trump’s FCC nominees. The agency has been operating with only three commissioners — two Republicans and a Democrat. On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce Committee is holding a confirmation hearing for the two open seats. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Brendan Carr will appear before the panel. If confirmed they would give the FCC a 3-2 Republican edge.
Safe Is The Word For Trump’s FCC, Thankfully
The newly constituted FCC is conservative and deregulatory, but in a way you would expect had any of the establishment Republicans won the White House last November. When Trump won, I worried that he would stack the FCC with nut-job loyalists so that he could follow through with his threats against the media. Luckily, that didn’t happen.
Exclusives
The Parents Television Council today urged the Senate to approve Jessica Rosenworcel’s renomination to the FCC, and called on President Trump to fill the remaining commissioner slot with a nominee […]
President Trump intends to nominate Jessica Rosenworcel for a new term on the FCC, paving her way for her return to the commission after her tenure lapsed at the end of last year. The FCC currently has two vacancies, and is facing a third. Commissioner Mignon Clyburn’s term expires at the end of this month.
President Donald Trump could soon fill the two open slots at the FCC, by tapping Brendan Carr, an aide to the FCC’s current Republican chairman, and Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat who previously served at the agency. At the moment, those two seasoned telecom policy experts are seen as the front-runners to fill the remaining seats at the five-member FCC, according to multiple sources familiar with the matter, though Trump has not yet formally nominated anyone.
President Trump must fill two vacant seats on the FCC, an important decision that could set the tone for his administration’s policies on tech companies. FCC watchers believe the Democratic spot will likely be filled by former Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. For the Republican seat, Trump has not yet tipped his hand, but there is growing speculation over who could be on his shortlist. Among them: Michelle Connolly, Patricia Paoletta, Roslyn Layton and Ben Moncrief.
President Trump has withdrawn two nominations for the CPB Board and one for the FCC. Last fall President Obama nominated Brent Nelsen and David Arroyo, both previous CPB directors, to serve through 2020. The two were among 23 nominations withdrawn Tuesday, along with the nomination for FCC commissioner of Jessica Rosenworcel.
Hershman Is Front Runner For FCC GOP Slot
Indiana state senator Brandt Hershman has close ties to Vice President Pence. Others in the running include Jeffrey A. Eisenach, Mark A. Jamison and Roslyn Layton. In the mix to fill the Democrat vacancy on the commission is former commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel.
The U.S. Senate adjourned without confirming Jessica Rosenworcel for a second term on the commission, forcing her out of office and setting up the agency for a partisan deadlock as the Republican administration of Donald J. Trump begins. Without other changes, the Democrat’s departure would leave the FCC hindered, with two Republicans and two Democrats on the five-member panel, until the Senate can confirm a Republican to gain a majority.
Tom Wheeler will step down as chairman of the FCC if it “ensures” that the Senate confirms Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel for another term, an FCC official confirmed to The Hill on Thursday.
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler’s’ proposal to overhaul the market for TV set-top boxes remained on a knife’s edge a day ahead of a scheduled vote by the commission on Thursday.
When the FCC announced a plan this year that would free people from having to rent cable set-top boxes, the cable and television industries balked and lobbied hard to forestall the proposal. But it turns out the biggest threat to the plan, which the commission is expected to vote on Thursday, is a low-profile Democratic commissioner within the agency itself, Jessica Rosenworcel,
A tangled mess of two stalled telecom bills and the pending nomination of a well-liked tech regulator won’t be resolved until a lame-duck session of Congress, if at all, a top Senate Republican said Thursday. At issue is the confirmation of FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, for a second term at the agency. If the Senate doesn’t vote before the end of the year, she’s out. Her term will be up, and there will be no way to extend her tenure, even though she is highly regarded by both Republicans and Democrats.
At a Senate Commerce Committee hearing Thursday, FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel said she doesn’t think the agency has the legal authority to pursue a part of its proposal to reform the market for television set-top boxes and cast doubt on whether Chairman Tom Wheeler has the votes to pass the plan.
Opponents of the FCC’s set-top box market reforms are putting more pressure on Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel, seen as the swing vote on the hotly-contested item. In a filing on Friday, a set of programming companies disclosed that they spoke with Rosenworcel last week and said that “any arrangement in which they are required to allow their content to be distributed on terms or conditions to which programmers would not agree would be tantamount to a compulsory copyright license, which the Commission lacks authority to impose.”
The FCC’s plan to boost competition in the cable set-top box market may need some changes to shore up enough votes. While Chairman Tom Wheeler and his Democratic majority led a 3-2 vote on the proposal in February, Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is pushing for changes before it hits a final vote. Now that the FCC has received public comments on the plan, “It has become clear the original proposal has real flaws and, as I have suggested before, is too complicated. We need to find another way forward,” Rosenworcel said.
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) is holding up legislation backed by Senate Commerce Chairman John Thune (R-S.D.) in an escalating war over the re-nomination of an FCC commissioner. A spokesperson suggested the hold is linked to Republicans’ unwillingness to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel for a second term.
There are multiple holds on the re-nomination of Democratic FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune said that a lawmaker or lawmakers had placed a hold on her nomination to a second term on the commission, but he wasn’t willing to discuss who was behind the hold.
On Wednesday, the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee unanimously voted to reappoint Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to another term at the FCC. Chairman Tom Wheeler issued this statement: “Congratulations to Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel on receiving the unanimous Senate Commerce Committee vote reappointing her for a new term at the FCC. Jessica’s commitment to public service, commitment to tackling important issues and focus on improving Americans’ lives through better access to technology have been assets to the Commission. I look forward to her reconfirmation by the full Senate.”
Aside from a handful of tough questions on net neutrality, the collection of enforcement fines and timely responses to Congress, the Democratic commissioner emerged from a re-nomination hearing Wednesday with praise from lawmakers.
President Obama announced on Wednesday night that he plans to renominate Democrat CC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel to her post. Her current term expires this summer.
The Wall Street Journal reports that FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is the person to watch as the panel takes up its busiest, most complex agenda in years. WSJ subscribers can read the full story here.
Southwest Colorado’s plea for Denver TV broadcasts is getting more attention in Washington. Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) and FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel met Wednesday in Durango to discuss possible solutions to the impasse that has blocked many local residents from receiving Denver TV news channels and, not incidentally, Denver Broncos football games.
What To Expect From A Tom Wheeler FCC
First, there will be little or no change in the incentive auction policy. Look for Wheeler to push the auction with all the zeal of the outgoing Genachowski. What’s near impossible to divine is where Wheeler will go on two issues that should be of more immediate concern to broadcasters: ownership and retransmission consent.
Does FCC Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel want to be the next head of the FCC? It’s hard not to connect the political dots, based on a letter a majority of Senate Democrats sent President Obama recommending he select her for the job. The first signature on the letter signed by 37 Democrats is none other than Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.), Rosenworcel’s mentor and unabashed champion.
A bipartisan pair of FCC commissioners were sworn into office today, making the commission complete for the first time in nearly a year. Jessica Rosenworcel, a former Senate Commerce Committee senior communications counsel, will fill a Democratic seat on the FCC and Ajit Pai, a former FCC aide, will fill a Republican seat.
The Senate confirmed GOP nominee Ajit Pai and former Senate Commerce Committee aide Jessica Rosenworcel, the Democratic nominee today.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) on Friday released holds he had placed on two nominees to the FCC. Grassley had placed the holds on Republican Ajit Pai and Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel months ago and had demanded FCC documents on the agency’s decision to grant a waiver to LightSquared, the politically connected telecommunications firm that wanted to set up a new 4G wireless network.
Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) strongly denied suggestions by Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller (D-W.Va.) that any sort of settlement in the impasse over Grassley’s hold on FCC nominees Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel in the near future.
FCC Nominees Being Held Hostage By GOP
Late last year, President Obama nominated Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai to fill two vacancies on the five-person commission. Both nominations are hung up in the Senate for reasons that have nothing to do with the nominees themselves. They are pawns in a couple of fights with the FCC by some Senate Republicans. However, both nominees have strong credentials for the FCC jobs, according to FCC watchers. Here’s a look at their backgrounds.
For the second time this year, the FCC Wednesday held its monthly meeting short of two commissioners. It may stay that way for a while longer. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) has no intentions of lifting his hold on FCC nominees Republican Ajit Pai and Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, who are caught in the middle of Grassley’s beef with how the FCC has handled LightSquared’s requests to build out a wireless network.
The Senate Commerce Committee approved the nominations of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai for to the FCC in a voice vote Thursday morning, but their ultimate confirmation still faces obstacles because of a dispute between the FCC and Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa).
The U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation announced today a hearing to consider the nominations to the FCC of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai. The hearing is scheduled for 2:30 p.m., Wednesday, Nov. 30, in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. “I am pleased to announce this important step in the confirmation process,” said Committee Chairman Sen. John D. Rockefeller IV. “These are exceptional nominees who will be effective advocates at the FCC. As we consider these nominations, I remain committed to working with my colleagues to address any concerns and move these nominations to a full Senate confirmation as expeditiously as possible.”
Ending months of speculation in Washington telecom circles, President Barack Obama formally nominated Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Varadaraj Pai as FCC commissioners Monday night.
