Trump FCC nominee Simington sought to enlist Fox's Laura Ingraham in anti-tech fight

Federal Communications Commission nominee Nathan Simington reached out to Fox News in an attempt at “engaging” host Laura Ingraham to support President Donald Trump’s quest to make it easier to sue social media companies like Facebook and Twitter. Simington, a senior adviser in a key Commerce Department tech agency, wrote that the popular Fox News host could help sway the FCC to act on Trump's proposal before Election Day. He also suggested that democracy hinged on the ability of the commission — which has not traditionally regulated social media — to target Silicon Valley companies. Ingraham, whom President Trump frequently has cited favorably, has echoed the GOP’s attacks on the tech industry and years earlier had eyed joining the administration. Fellow Fox News host Tucker Carlson publicly backed Simington's FCC nomination in an October segment where he pressured Senate Republicans to speed up.

The FCC nominee's quest for a lame-duck confirmation has already faced an uncertain future. The newly obtained records undercut his attempt to downplay his role in the administration’s tech liability fight. “This email shows that Mr. Simington was an active and eager soldier in President Trump’s attempted assault on the First Amendment," said Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). "Mr. Simington was willing to bully the very agency he’s been nominated to join in order to do the electoral bidding of the Republican party on the taxpayer dime. I am demanding that Mr. Simington explain himself in follow-up questions for the record, and I certainly hope he will be more forthcoming in his written responses than he was during his hearing."