Reactions to Senate Confirming Nathan Simington to FCC

On Dec 8, the Senate confirmed Nathan Simington as a new Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission in a 49-46 vote.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS): “Nathan Simington’s confirmation will help ensure a balanced FCC and continued light-touch regulatory approach that has kept the internet free and open for all Americans."

Prior to the vote, Sen Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) said, "Nathan Simington is a deeply dangerous nominee to the FCC. He’s dangerous on the issues: net neutrality, Lifeline, E-Rate, and rural broadband ... he is conflicted, unprepared and unqualified. In the midst of a pandemic, what we need is an FCC Commissioner who will champion broadband and connectivity for the millions of Americans who don’t have internet access, including 16 million students."

Also prior the vote, Sen Ron Wyden (D-OR) said, “Unfortunately, Nathan Simington’s only qualification for this job is following Donald Trump’s orders to turn the FCC into government speech police."

Free Press Action Vice President of Policy and General Counsel Matt Wood: “Simington’s confirmation is a cynical Republican ploy to deadlock the Biden FCC. The whole point is to prevent a duly elected new administration and its appointees from getting to work. That’s unacceptable, considering everything that a Biden FCC must do to promote broadband equity, increase media diversity and ensure people can get and stay connected during this pandemic. Majority Leader McConnell rammed this confirmation through despite Simington’s utter lack of experience and expertise. But Simington needed only one qualification to pass muster with McConnell: a willingness to obstruct the incoming Biden administration from repairing the damage done under four years of Chairman Pai’s incompetent and unpopular leadership. All that the Trump FCC has to show for four years of negligence is nearly 80 million people without adequate home-internet service — tens of millions of them Black and Indigenous people of color, and all of them lacking affordable broadband choices in urban, rural and tribal areas alike. The Biden FCC has important work to do. First and foremost is the need to restore the agency’s Title II authority for broadband. That’s essential to everything the agency must do to make broadband more affordable for everyone, modernize the Lifeline program, prohibit broadband shutoffs during the pandemic, increase broadband competition and restore protections against unjust and unreasonable practices by powerful broadband companies. Simington lacks even the veneer of expertise needed for this essential work. He’s a very recent administration hire who lied about the extent of his participation in carrying out Trump’s unconstitutional executive order on Section 230, which would make websites unwilling platforms for Trump’s most dangerous and misleading lies. Simington’s lack of candor and willing participation in a scheme to turn the FCC into Trump’s speech police should have been disqualifying for the Senate. And a functioning FCC ought to matter to Senate Republicans too, as their constituents also suffer from the digital divide and the lack of competition, diversity and localism in media ownership. Yet Republican lawmakers voted the wrong way when told to do so by a defeated president and their obstructionist Senate majority leader. This is a desperate bid by Senate Republicans as their majority still hangs in the balance. But it leaves the FCC with a profoundly unqualified commissioner placed there to prioritize industry pipe dreams and purposeful gridlock over the serious work the agency must do to help people connect and communicate during a national emergency.”

Greg Guice, Director of Government Affairs at Public Knowledge: “Nathan Simington’s confirmation to the FCC risks the agency’s ability to function effectively and will likely result in painful consequences for consumers who rely on broadband — and that means everyone. From ensuring children can access distancing learning tools to helping seniors interact with their doctors through telehealth services, the FCC is chiefly responsible for keeping families connected to their communities. A deadlocked FCC jeopardizes this work and is unacceptable during a pandemic. We urge the next Congress to quickly confirm President-elect Biden’s nomination to fill the fifth commissioner’s seat. Americans deserve — and need — a functioning FCC now more than ever.”

“We congratulate Nathan Simington as he takes a seat at the Federal Communications Commission. We look forward to working with him and his staff on the many important issues and policy discussions before the agency that play a critical role in maintaining and strengthening our country’s broadband infrastructure,” said Joan Marsh, AT&T Executive Vice President of Federal Regulatory Relations