What the FCC might look like under a second President Trump term

The Federal Communications Commission could look very different next year, even if President Donald Trump is reelected. If President Trump wins a second term, industry observers believe the agency will push ahead with the administration's desire to reform a prized legal shield for content moderation on online platforms and remain focused on expanding rural broadband policies.

While FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's current term would allow him to stay on at the commission until Jan 2023, if he chooses to stay that long, recent precedent among FCC chairs from both parties is to step down after a full four-year term. Doug Brake, director of broadband and spectrum policy at the nonpartisan public policy think tank Information Technology and Innovation Foundation, said that if President Trump is reelected, he thinks Pai could stay on as chair if he wanted to, but noted that it is "not uncommon to have two different chairmanships" under the same presidential administration. In the event that Pai does choose to leave the commission in the coming months, Brake believes current FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr could be at the top of Trump's list to lead the commission. Chris Lewis, president and CEO of public interest group Public Knowledge, agreed that if President Trump is reelected and Chairman Pai steps down, Commissioner Carr would "have the greatest amount of experience … so that's the name you hear most often."

As for what the policy priorities would be at the agency under a second Trump term, Brake said that much of that will depend on who becomes the next chair. If the agency were to prioritize reform of Section 230 in the next term, Brake believes that "even if you get the sort of more aggressive chair on those issues, that even if they do move forward, I think those would likely be challenged and rolled back in court." Lewis agreed that he expects that the "230 discussion" will continue in a second Trump term.