FCC Chairwoman Rosenworcel Roots For Election To Help Break 2-2 Tie On Commission

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel hopes the outcome of the 2022 midterm elections will help break the longstanding 2-2 tie on the regulatory commission, but she also defended the body’s deadlocked body’s record during her leadership. “We’ve turned the noise down, and turned up the number of things we’re getting done,” she said, alluding to the commission’s profile under her predecessor as chair, Ajit Pai. At the behest of former President Trump, Pai spearheaded a series of dramatic rollbacks of longstanding media rules when the five-member commission tilted 3-2 in favor of the Republicans. With Joe Biden’s defeat of Trump, Pai then stepped down. But the Democrats’ nominee, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society], has seen her prospects stymied by the Senate. The former FCC staffer and progressive activist has yet to receive a full vote in the Senate despite the usual dynamic of the commission leaning toward the party of the president. The Senate’s current 50-50 tie leans toward the Democrats because Vice President Kamala Harris can step in to break ties, but many centrists have raised concerns about Sohn. Chairwoman Rosenworcel said she is rooting for Election Day to provide more clear direction for the FCC. Despite the gridlock, Chairwoman Rosenworcel said, “We’ve done a lot.” She listed accomplishments in areas like affordable broadband, national security, network security. spectrum auctions, and responding to climate change. Chairwoman Rosenworcel noted that her tenure as the first woman chair in the 87-year history of the FCC began during the deadlock, so that’s the only operating environment she has known from her leadership seat.