Senate Commerce Committee Approves Secretary of Commerce Nomination

The Senate Commerce Committee approved the presidential nomination of Gina Raimondo, Governor of Rhode Island, to be Secretary of the United States Department of Commerce. The vote was 21-3. Gove Raimondo has said she will work with Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration to stand up an Office of Connectivity and Growth “to amplify the work of NTIA’s BroadbandUSA” activities. And not only is she a no on nationalizing 5G but she is “unaware of any present intention” to build such a government network. In fielding questions about how the Biden administration would handle juggling airwave disputes with the Federal Communications Commission (a source of Trump-era dysfunction), Gov Raimondo told lawmakers she wants such disputes “resolved prior to the issuance of any FCC Decision.” NTIA judgments “should be given extraordinary weight,” she added.