McConnell Files for Cloture on Senate Pai Reconfirmation
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., filed cloture Tuesday on FCC Chairman Ajit Pai's reconfirmation to a five-year term. The move kicks off a long-anticipated floor debate that Senate Democrats said they're determined to focus on net neutrality, Sinclair's proposed buy of Tribune and other controversial policy matters (see 1709150060). A cloture vote on Pai's reconfirmation could come as soon as Thursday.
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Likelihood of floor debate and final vote this week on Pai gained momentum after Senate Republicans' decision Tuesday against moving forward with a vote on the so-called Obamacare repeal bill led by Sens. Bill Cassidy, R-La., and Lindsey Graham, R-S.C. A Senate vote as soon as this week to confirm Makan Delrahim as head of DOJ's Antitrust Division also appeared possible. Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, told us he's hopeful about a path forward following the end of a monthslong hold (see 1709250025).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., confirmed before Senate Republicans' Tuesday lunch meeting that Pai “very much could get teed up” on the Senate floor this week. He said the outcome of caucus discussions at the lunch on the Graham-Cassidy healthcare bill would be a main factor in what Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., would do. Thune told us Republican leaders had planned to bring Pai up for Senate consideration this week before Graham-Cassidy gained momentum. Senate Republicans had been eyeing a vote on Pai before the upcoming Columbus Day recess (see 1709130054).
The move against a Senate vote on Graham-Cassidy strengthens the possibility that Pai “could” come up for a vote this week but “that's going to be a call that [McConnell] will make,” Thune told reporters after the GOP lunch. “My understanding is” that McConnell intends to “move quickly to the Pai nomination and get it across the line.” The timeline for McConnell to file cloture and an ensuing floor debate on Pai will depend on “how much the Democrats want to use the clock, how much they want to delay things,” Thune said. “But in the end, we're going to get him confirmed and I want to get that process going sooner rather than later.” Senate Democrats sought a floor debate on Pai as part of a deal before the August recess to confirm Commissioners Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel under unanimous consent (see 1708030060).
Senate Commerce ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., declined to comment Tuesday on Democrats' intentions for a floor debate on Pai. Nelson told us at that time it hadn't been confirmed “that they're bringing him up” for a vote. The amount of time Senate Democrats use specifically on net neutrality could be amplified if a floor debate occurs this week because of a Wednesday net neutrality Capitol Hill advocacy day led by Public Knowledge, Free Press and other public interest groups, some lobbyists told us.
The confluence of possible Senate consideration of Pai and the public interest groups' meetings with lawmakers on net neutrality is “interesting from a narrative standpoint” but PK and the other groups don't intend to mix the two issues, said Phillip Berenbroick, senior policy counsel. “The goal isn't for folks here in D.C. and advocates who live and breathe these issues to be the lead in these meetings,” which will instead focus on the perspectives of participants from outside the Beltway, he said. “We want them to go in and explain [to lawmakers] why the net neutrality issue is important to them.” It's possible some participants note Senate consideration of Pai “of their own volition” and it “wouldn't shock me” if one of the senators involved in the meetings decides to devote time to discussing net neutrality during a debate on Pai as a result of the meetings, Berenbroick said.
Right-leaning groups also have been meeting with Republican Hill staffers in favor of Pai's nomination in recent weeks to bolster support, despite widespread recognition Pai can at least count on getting the votes of the entire Republican Senate majority, several GOP lobbyists said. Those meetings have included calls for Senate Republicans to use their time during a Senate floor debate on Pai not only to defend the chairman's record but also to push back against Democrats' arguments for keeping FCC 2015 net neutrality rules, the lobbyists said. Republicans “need to set out what government's role is in any free-market space,” and that includes supporting the idea that the FCC must rescind its 2015 rules, said Americans for Tax Reform’s Digital Liberty Executive Director Katie McAuliffe.