Bipartisan Leaders of Key National Security Committees Urge Appointment of 5G Coordinator

The bipartisan leadership of several key Senate committees urged President Donald Trump’s national security adviser to designate a senior coordinator dedicated to leading the nation’s effort to develop and deploy next-generation communications technologies. In a letter to Robert O’Brien, who was appointed as national security adviser in Sept, the top Republican and Democratic Senators on the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the Senate Armed Services Committee stressed the urgent need for the Trump administration to develop a national strategy for 5G, and to prioritize across government agencies the nation’s effort to develop and deploy the technology. "Without a national strategy, facilitated by a common understanding of the geopolitical and technical impact of 5G and future telecommunications advancements, we expect each agency will continue to operate within its own mandate, rather than identifying national authority and policy deficiencies that do not neatly fall into a single department or agency," they wrote. "This fractured approach will not be sufficient to rise to the challenge the country faces."

The letter was signed by Sens Richard Burr (R-NC)  and Mark Warner (D-VA), the leaders of the Senate Intelligence Committee; Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Gary Peters (D-MI), who lead the Senate Homeland Security Committee; James Risch (R-ID) and Robert Menendez, (D-NJ), of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and James Inhofe (R-OK) and Jack Reed (D-RI), of the Senate Armed Services Committee.