The Trump official who wants to save net neutrality

Earl Comstock, a high-ranking deputy to Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross, is quietly pushing for President Donald Trump to support a congressional effort to restore the net neutrality rules, He is advising that President Trump back a resolution that would reverse the Federal Communications Commission repeal, a move that would put President Trump in direct opposition to Ajit Pai, his hand-picked FCC chairman. “The White House is a bigger place than people sometimes realize,” said Matt Schlapp, chairman of the American Conservative Union (and registered as a lobbyist for Verizon and Comcast). 

Comstock’s advocacy frequently puts him at odds within the Commerce Department with David Redl, who heads its National Telecommunications and Information Administration. They refer to internal Commerce frustration over Comstock’s direct hand in matters involving NTIA and FirstNet, the government’s public safety broadband network effort. Comstock’s tight oversight within Commerce even prevented Redl from supplying advance testimony to Congress in time for his first hearing, spurring a complaint from Rep. Marsha Blackburn (R-TN) over what she dubbed a “snafu.” During Redl’s confirmation process, then-White House telecom aide Grace Koh received a July 26 message from an AT&T official relaying an unnamed Hill source’s intelligence: “Sounds like Earl is working pretty hard to kill Davids nom.” The email, obtained by POLITICO through a Freedom of Information Act request, alleged that Sens. Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Mike Lee (R-Utah) grew concerned after “conversations with Ross” over Redl’s positions as a House staffer. By Aug. 1, Sec Ross told Sens Cruz and Lee he backed Redl, but the lawmakers kept demanding documents over what they deemed Redl’s insufficient objections to an Obama-era decision to cede internet governance to the international community.