Policymakers

The House Democratic Steering and Policy Committee recommended the appointment of Representatives Angie Craig (D-MN), Lizzie Fletcher (D-TX), Kathleen Rice (D-NY), Kim Schrier (D-WA), and Lori Trahan (D-MA) to the Commerce Committee for the 117th Congress.

Rep Greg Walden (R-OR), one of the most influential conservative figures in the technology and telecommunications policy landscape, is set to retire from Congress. He pushed back on GOP-led calls for the Federal Communications Commission to step in on Section 230, even as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai faces pressure to do so before he leaves the agencyin January: “I'm not so sure that I want the FCC in the middle of all of this,” Rep Walden said. “Even if some think they have the authority, I'm not convinced that's the case.

Carolyn Roddy is now listed as acting chief of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration following previous acting Administrator Adam Candeub’s jump to the Justice Department.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai swore in Nathan Simington as the commission's newest commissioner. Simington’s term is back-dated to July 1, 2019, when the previous term of former Commissioner Michael O’Rielly was scheduled to end. The swearing in ceremony took place virtually as the FCC continues to work remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

Adam Candeub, the acting head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, has been named deputy associate attorney general. The political appointment does not require congressional confirmation. Candeub helped lead President Donald Trump’s crackdown against social media companies. Candeub has played a central role in carrying out Trump’s executive order targeting social media companies like Twitter and Facebook over allegations they censor conservative viewpoints.

Mike O’Rielly has been both a colleague and friend during his tenure at the Federal Communications Commission. I am grateful for his public service. I am also grateful for the work we were able to do together to expand the availability of unlicensed spectrum and Wi-Fi and safeguard funding for public safety and 911. I appreciate his consistently principled approach to the issues before the agency and I wish him all the best in the future.

For over seven years, Mike O’Rielly has served with distinction on the Federal Communications Commission. And since Jan 2017, he has been an important partner as the FCC has accomplished one of the most ambitious policy agendas in agency history. Because I had confidence in Mike, I’ve asked him to take the lead on important initiatives. And he delivered each time. A good example is the 3.5 GHz spectrum band. Mike showed leadership in reforming the rules for the 3.5 GHz band to promote 5G deployment. Because of his efforts, the auction of this band was a major success.

The Trump appointee who runs the government's overseas broadcasters reassigned the head of the Voice of America as part of a broad effort to install supporters of the president before the Biden administration comes to power. US Agency for Global Media CEO Michael Pack is intending to name as VOA director Robert Reilly, an outspoken conservative ally who briefly served in the job under President George W. Bush nearly two decades ago. Pack informed acting director Elez Biberaj of his ouster at his routinely scheduled noon meeting.

On Dec 8, the Senate confirmed Nathan Simington as a new Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission in a 49-46 vote.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS): “Nathan Simington’s confirmation will help ensure a balanced FCC and continued light-touch regulatory approach that has kept the internet free and open for all Americans."

The Senate confirmed Nathan Simington as a new Republican member of the Federal Communications Commission, a move that threatens to saddle the nation’s foremost telecom regulator with political deadlock at the start of the Biden administration. The chamber backed Simington on a 49-46 vote, installing a new commissioner at the FCC who has pledged “regulatory stability” and expressed an openness to using the agency’s rule-making powers to explore the way social-media sites handle political speech.