Policymakers

With two key staffing picks—Federal Trade Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as the new chair of that agency, and U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commissioner (and Palantir senior adviser) Jacob Helberg as undersecretary of state for economic growth, energy and the environment—President-elect Donald Trump is giving some early hints as to how his second administration will try to forge a new Republican consensus on tech. The two men will be responsible, in part, for enacting a sea change from the Biden administration in how government relates to tech — and turning the diverse, heter

North Dakota has the potential to be the first state in the country to bring a fiber connection to 100% of their broadband service locations. Brian Newby, the State Broadband Program Director, said North Dakota is in this position thanks to their forward-thinking providers: “The state had nothing to do with it.” Newby said a provider-led push led to the current reality in which North Dakota enjoys broad fiber coverage. “They went out on a limb as a group and borrowed money to do this over the years.

The incoming Trump administration will give Silicon Valley moguls unprecedented federal power, with tech-friendly officials and policies intertwined throughout government. The

Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY) won the race to lead the powerful House Commerce Committee in the 119th Congress, replacing retiring Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-WA). The panel's vast jurisdiction positions its chairman to play a lead role in crafting policy on an array of issues: everything from blocking China from engaging in U.S. telecommunication networks to influencing drug pricing. Rep. Brett Guthrie chairs the panel's Subcommittee on Health.

Tom Vilsack has much to say about Democrats and rural America. And for good reason. He’s the longest-serving Democratic agriculture secretary in history, having claimed the office tucked along the National Mall for eight years under former President Barack Obama and now concluding four more years in the post in the Biden administration.

As Donald Trump prepares to assume the presidency for the second time, and as Elon Musk prepares to begin his appointed position as co-head (along with Vivek Ramaswamy) of the newly created Department of Government Efficiency, we are entering a new and unprecedented moment in American politics.

Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appointed twenty-one Tribal members and five FCC members to the FCC’s renewed Native Nations Communications Task Force. The Task Force is comprised of elected and appointed leaders, or their designees, from a broad cross section of Native Nations, as well as senior staff and decision-makers from across the FCC.  Chairwoman Rosenworcel named Bambi Kraus, Chief of the FCC’s Office of Native Affairs and Policy, as Task Force Co-Chair.  A Tribal Co-Chair will be elected by the Tribal members of the Task Force.

Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) seems to hate many things about the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which Congress passed in 2021 with bipartisan support. Cruz’s hatred could presage rocky times for the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment (BEAD) program in 2025 because he is likely to head up the Senate Commerce Committee when Republicans take majority control of the Senate in January.

Any time there is a change of administration at the White House the Federal Communications Commission gets a new Chairman and a new agenda—and we now know the new Chairman will be current Commissioner Brandon Carr. With a new Chairman comes new policies, but also a turn against some of the policies of the previous FCC. There are a few things that obviously get reversed. First is net neutrality, which is poorly named and is really an effort to put some regulatory oversight on broadband. It seems likely that Commissioner Carr will reverse Chairman Rosenworcel’s decision on discrimination.

Donald Trump picked Brooke Rollins as his Agriculture secretary, after weeks of intense internal fighting over the role. Rollins served as director of the Office of American Innovation and acting director of the Domestic Policy Council during the first Trump administration.