President Trump replaces FCC member in bid to push through Twitter/Facebook crackdown

President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Nathan Simington, who is currently a senior advisor in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to replace Michel O'Rielly on the Federal Communications Commission. Commissioner O'Rielly apparently angered President Trump by saying that the FCC must uphold First Amendment speech protections "that apply to corporate entities, especially when they engage in editorial decision making." O'Rielly's comments signaled that he isn't likely to support the Trump administration petition, submitted by the NTIA, that asks the FCC to reinterpret Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act in order to limit social media platforms' legal protections for hosting third-party content when the platforms take down or alter content they consider objectionable. Simington had a handing in drafting President Trumps' May Sec 230 order. President Trump had nominated O'Rielly to another five-year FCC term in March, but withdrew the re-nomination after O'Rielly's comments. Simington's nomination needs approval from the Senate. Commissioner O'Rielly could serve on the FCC through the end of 2020 if the Senate doesn't act on the nomination before then, but he would have to leave if Simington officially gets the job. O'Rielly's FCC term technically expired in June 2019.