Still no signal on White House GOP nominee for FCC

The Federal Communications Commission could spend the remainder of its summer down two members — a reality that has Senate Democrats and Republicans blaming each other while fearing the potential of new policy delays.

President Barack Obama nominated Tom Wheeler as chairman months ago, but the White House still hasn’t named a GOP candidate for the FCC’s other open slot. With Republicans still insisting both nominees move together, the Senate very likely doesn’t have enough time to confirm two commissioners before its August break. That’s prompted plenty of sniping. Democrats have accused Republicans of dragging their heels when it came time to recommend a GOP nominee to the president. Republicans have countered that the White House is to blame. Sen. John Thune, the ranking GOP lawmaker on the Senate Commerce Committee, told POLITICO that “it’s been weeks” since GOP leaders offered up their candidate. The White House declined to comment for this report and didn’t say when it might break its silence with an announcement. GOP leaders, for their part, took quite some time interviewing candidates before offering up Mike O’Rielly, currently a staffer for Sen. John Cornyn (R-TX), according to industry sources — though Republican leaders declined to comment on the possibility.