President Trump taps net neutrality critic Ajit Pai to lead the FCC

President Trump has named Ajit Pai, an advocate of deregulation and a critic of the government's network neutrality rules, as the next chairman of the Federal Communications Commission. Pai's new position will give him control over the nation's most powerful telecommunication and cable regulator, with a 2-1 Republican majority that is widely expected to begin undoing some of the Obama era's most significant tech policies.

The Indian-American who grew up in Kansas had until now been a sitting Republican commissioner at the FCC — meaning he will not need to be confirmed by the US Senate before serving as the agency's 34th chairman. Pai was a staunch critic of Democratic efforts aimed at breaking the dominance of some of America's biggest Internet providers, including AT&T, Comcast and Verizon.