Policymakers

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. 

BJ Tanksley has been the director of Missouri’s broadband office since 2022 and has lived and breathed rural broadband for even longer. Previously, Tanksley was director of state and local legislative affairs for the Missouri Farm Bureau, where he served on a committee that developed a proposal for a program that would cover some of the costs of deploying high-speed broadband in rural areas where it wasn’t available.

As they entered office at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2021, Xavier Becerra and his allies had a plan to restore Americans’ faith in the nation’s beleaguered public health agencies. Four years later, the pandemic has receded. But trust in America’s health agencies has not recovered.

Rep Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced the Committee’s Subcommittee Chief Counsels for the 119th Congress. Kate O’Connor Harper will serve as Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where she has served for the past 5 years. Kate previously served as the Chief of Staff for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she worked on legislative and communications policy focused on spectrum and broadband issues.

Every day at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), we work to promote technology in the service of human progress. That has been the throughline of our actions on Internet connectivity, spectrum and tech policy.

The Senate Republican Conference ratified Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Joining the committee are three new Republican members for the 119^th Congress: Senators John Curtis (R-UT), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT). Remaining on the committee are Senators John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Todd Young (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

On January 3, 2025, the 119th Congress was sworn in. Republicans now hold majorities in both the House and the Senate. With the incoming Trump administration, Congressional Republicans have a lengthy list of priorities.