Under new Trump chairman, FCC means business

[Commentary] As much as the Tom Wheeler Federal Communications Commission was known for its pro-consumer bias, the Ajit Pai FCC will become known for its pro-business bent. It is not that consumers will be forgotten; it is that Chairman Pai is an unabashed free-market trumpeter and proponent of limited federal government. As such, he is expected to encourage the private sector not only to pull its weight on competition, but also on consumer protection.

In opinion after opinion, Pai maintains that the key challenge for businesses — both large and small —is complying with an overweight regulatory regime. This philosophy, articulated often and eloquently by Pai, sits foursquare with the Trump doctrine and will guide Pai's actions, and most importantly, communications policy, for the foreseeable future.

[Adonis Hoffman is chairman of Business in the Public Interest and an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. He served from 2013 to 2015 as chief of staff and senior legal advisor to a FCC commissioner.]