Fight for the Future Urges Democratic Leadership to Remove Sen Cantwell as Chair of Commerce Committee

"Democratic leadership repeatedly said that if Democrats took control of the Senate they would move quickly to get the Federal Communications Commission back to work protecting the public," said Fight for the Future Evan Greer in a letter to Sen Chuck Schumer (D-NY)."But Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), in her role as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has been actively and egregiously preventing Democrats from making good on those promises. She has repeatedly caved to disingenuous opposition from Republicans and industry lobbyists, leading to inexcusable delays in the confirmation of highly qualified FCC nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]. Additionally, her role in securing an unjustified recusal from Ms. Sohn sets a dangerous precedent for President Biden’s nominees across the government." In the February 3 letter, Greer states, "Given the circumstances, we call on Senate Leadership to immediately remove Senator Maria Cantwell from her position as chair of the Senate Commerce Committee. She has proven herself to be more interested in pandering to the broadcast and telecom industry and their Republican enablers than fulfilling Democrats’ promise to restore net neutrality and a functioning FCC. Cantwell should be stripped of her position and quickly replaced with someone who will actually do their job and fight for the public interest by quickly confirming President Biden’s historic and well-qualified nominee to the FCC."