FCC Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner O’Rielly are Confirmed

The Senate voted unanimously to confirm President Obama’s two nominations to the Federal Communications Commission, overcoming obstacles by Republican lawmakers. Tom Wheeler was confirmed as Chairman along with Michael O’Rielly as a commissioner, filling the two FCC seats that have been empty since the previous chairman and a Republican member announced their resignations in March.

The vote came after Sen Ted Cruz (R-TX) lifted a hold earlier in the day on the nomination of Tom Wheeler as chairman, with Sen Cruz saying he had received assurances from him that the commission would not immediately pursue changes for political advertising on television. Sen Cruz had blocked consideration of Wheeler’s nomination two weeks ago, saying he was worried that Wheeler would push the FCC to expand disclosure requirements for political advertisements on television. Sen Cruz said Wheeler had “stated that he had heard the unambiguous message” that Congress, rather than the FCC, should decide on requiring full disclosure in political advertising. The confirmations of Chairman Wheeler and Commissioner O’Rielly bring the agency back to its full strength of five commissioners -- three of them Democrats and two Republicans -- and will allow the FCC to get to work on several pressing issues that have not moved forward since the former chairman, Julius Genachowski, announced his resignation in March. Those issues include the structuring of so-called spectrum incentive auctions, in which the commission would sell licenses to mobile phone and broadband companies allowing them to use newly available bands of the public airwaves to transmit phone and data traffic.