Policymakers

Six senior officials at the US Agency for Global Media have filed a whistleblower complaint with the State Department’s inspector general and the US Office of Special Counsel, alleging that they were retaliated against for raising concerns about the new political leadership installed earlier in 2020 by President Donald Trump. The 32-page complaint accuses top officials at the taxpayer-funded media group of abusing their authority, violating the law and mismanaging the organization.

Federal Communications Commissioner Michael O'Rielly will be leaving when his term ends [either with the Senate confirmation of a successor or by January, whichever comes first] and signaled his supporters don't need to advocate for keeping him on the FCC.

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.

If Democratic Presidential nominee Joe Biden gets elected, policy experts expect him to choose a new Federal Communications Commission. The term of the current FCC Chairman Ajit Pai does not end until Jan 2023, but FCC chairmen typically exit the commission before a new president takes office.

Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) is planning on moving forward with Trump’s recent nomination of Nathan Simington, a Commerce Department staffer that President Donald Trump chose to take over the seat of GOP veteran Mike O’Rielly. Chairman Wicker met with Simington Sept 23 in a meeting that a senior aide called highly detailed.

On Sept 17, the House Communications Subcommittee held the hearing Trump FCC: Four Years of Lost Opportunities.

President Donald Trump announced the nomination of Nathan Simington, who is currently a senior advisor in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, to replace Michel O'Rielly on the Federal Communications Commission.

President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Nathan A. Simington, of Virginia, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission.

President Donald Trump, pressing for new social media regulations, plans to nominate a senior administration official to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission. The nomination of Nathan Simington, a senior adviser at the Commerce Department’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, comes after the White House abruptly announced in early August it was withdrawing the nomination of FCC Commissioner Mike O’Rielly to serve another term.

Joe Biden may or may not have a short list of people he'd nominate to chair the Federal Communications Commission, but the rest of Washington does. Tech lobbyists, tech activists, and current and former FCC officials have all begun speculating about who Biden would choose if he wins.