Biden’s delay on filling the FCC pushes agenda back significantly

President Joe Biden has faced constant pressure to fill out the Federal Communications Commission since he took office earlier this year. Pressure ramped up significantly last week when dozens of advocacy groups pushed the president to “urgently” address the deadlocked agency. In the immediate months following the 2021 inauguration, advocacy groups pressured Biden for a nominee but also recognized that the incoming administration was dealing with the coronavirus pandemic and the aftermath of Trump’s administration. Now, they say, it’s time for Biden to act. Because even if the president put forward a nomination today, it's likely that some of the larger items on a Democrat-led FCC’s agenda—like restoring net neutrality rules and classifying broadband under Title II of the Communications Act—likely wouldn’t be wrapped up before the middle of 2022 at the earliest. While advocacy groups acknowledge Biden's progress with addressing broadband needs and helming infrastructure plans, the final piece needed to achieve the administration's goals is a fully functioning FCC.