Policymakers

I hereby direct the following individuals to perform the functions and duties of the indicated positions in an acting capacity until the position is filled by appointment: Jeremy Pelter, Secretary of Commerce. Pelter currently serves as the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Administration, performing the non-exclusive functions and duties of the Chief Financial Officer and Assistant Secretary for Administration.

I hereby designate the following: Brendan Carr, Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Andrew Ferguson, Chair of the Federal Trade Commission.

Karin O'Leary, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Operations for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, is now also the Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information. She is a federal public administration executive with experience in leading transformational change in the public sector.

Former Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms submitted her letter of resignation from the First Responder Network Authority (FirstNet Authority) Board to Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo, effective on January 20, 2025. Mayor Bottoms was appointed to the FirstNet Authority Board and designated the Board Chair in October 2024. Until the incoming Secretary of Commerce appoints a new Board Chair, the FirstNet Authority Board Bylaws direct Vice Chair Renee Gordon to perform the duties of the Board Chair.   

In early 2022, the U.S. Senate confirmed Alan Davidson to be Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information—and to lead the U.S. Department of Commerce's National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA). In the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Congress charged the NTIA with administering $48.2 billion in federal investments to close the digital divide—including the $42.45 billion Broadband Equity, Access, and Deployment​ (BEAD) Program.

Republican Senate aide Olivia Trusty has been picked as a commissioner for the Federal Communications Commission, President-elect Trump announced on Truth Social. Trusty currently serves as a professional staff member on the Senate Armed Services Committee. Before that, she was policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee, where "she has fought tirelessly to grow the Economy, empower Innovation, and reignite the American Dream," said Trump. Trusty has staffed Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS) and Rep. Bob Latta (R-OH).

President Joe Biden used his final address from the Oval Office to deliver a somber warning about the threat posed by the “dangerous concentration of power” in the hands of wealthy and well-connected individuals, a thinly veiled reference to billionaire technology executives who have been increasingly signaling their desire to work closely with President-elect Donald Trump. “Today, an oligarchy is taking shape in America of extreme wealth, power and influence that literally threatens our entire democracy, our basic rights and freedoms, and a fair shot for everyone to get ahead,” President B

Based on today’s presentations, I don’t think there is any question that, on every count, we did the work and delivered for the people of the United States. Working together, we were able to build the largest broadband affordability effort in our Nation’s history. Working together, we launched the first-ever Space Bureau and created a Single Network Future that is going to change communications around the globe. Working together, we built broadband maps that are light years ahead of anything that came before.

Republican members of the House Commerce Committee's Subcommittee on Communications and Technology for the 119^th Congress:

As the Senate Commerce Committee is set to convene for the first time in the 119th Congress, we look at the membership of the panel and their priorities when it comes to broadband policy. Previously, we looked at the priorities of Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-TX) and Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), who sits on the Commerce Committee as well. The committee includes 15 Republicans and 13 Democrats.