Thomas Wheeler

Whoever Donald Trump appoints to head the FCC, broadcasters figure they should be in much better shape than they have been with the outgoing Tom Wheeler, who provided no relief on the out-of-date ownership restrictions. With Wheeler’s departure, the Republicans will suddenly have a 2-1 majority, a three-person quorum necessary to do business and the power to set the agenda that comes with the chairmanship.

Lawrence Spiwak, president of the Phoenix Center for Advanced Legal & Economic Public Policy Studies: “The United States just went through a brutal election season. Politics is a nasty game. But now that the election over, we must — in the immortal words of Abraham Lincoln — come together and embrace the better angels of our nature. Unfortunately, FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler did not get the memo.”

FCC Chairman nominee Tom Wheeler says he thinks that “it is possible to call upon our better angels with some leadership” to help clean up programming.

Chairman John D. (Jay) Rockefeller on Tuesday announced that the U.S. Senate Commerce Committee will hold a hearing on the nomination of Thomas Wheeler to be FCC chairman. The hearing will start at 2:30 p.m., June 18, in room 253 of the Russell Senate Office Building in Washington. The hearing will be webcast live via the Senate Commerce Committee website. Refresh the Commerce Committee homepage 10 minutes prior to the scheduled start time to automatically begin streaming the webcast.