President Biden's FTC and FCC nominees face further confirmation delays

Senate Democrats likely won’t be setting up floor votes this week on President Biden’s long-pending Federal Trade Commission and Federal Communications Commission nominees, according to Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA). “We’re missing a few people,” she said, citing the absence of Sen Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) due to COVID-19, as well as a few other Democrats. FCC nominee Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya are key to Democratic majorities at both agencies, and their confirmations would allow Biden’s FCC and FTC chiefs to pursue their long-deferred progressive agendas. But every Democratic vote may be needed to overcome GOP pushback. “It’s all about who shows up,” Cantwell said.