FCC nomination fight stirs intrigue

The behind-the-scenes parlor game to fill Democratic and Republican vacancies on the Federal Communications Commission is just beginning to heat up.

Washington’s telecom circles are abuzz with speculation over who might get President Barack Obama’s two nods and how the Senate might proceed with their confirmations. It’s the beginning of a process that could lead to political tension in the Senate -- not only over the nominees themselves but over the policy direction of an agency that has repeatedly found itself in cross hairs over controversial issues, such as network neutrality.

On the Democratic side, the telecom industry has coalesced around Jessica Rosenworcel, a top telecom staffer for Chairman Jay Rockefeller on the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, as the leading candidate to fill the spot to be vacated by Commissioner Michael Copps. Copps’s term expires in just a few months.

Speculation still surrounds the vacancy created by the unexpected departure of Republican Commissioner Meredith Attwell Baker, who recently resigned from the commission to join Comcast. Ajit Pai, a partner at law firm Jenner & Block, who previously served under former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, is so far the front-runner for the job. Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell has sent Pai’s name to the White House.