Starks: 'No Plans to Resign' from FCC Amid Senate Democratic Pressure to Delay Departure
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said Wednesday he has “no plans to resign,” an apparent response to talk that he was eyeing a Jan. 20 departure, in tandem with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, when Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr takes the gavel (see 2411210028). Several Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us earlier Wednesday they were concerned that he would leave early and they were considering joining Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., in pushing Starks to stay into the early months of President-elect Donald Trump’s second administration. Punchbowl News first reported Tuesday night that Schumer is urging Starks to stay. Meanwhile, Republican Commissioner Nathan Simington also is facing pressure to delay an early potential exit, but his departure doesn’t appear as imminent.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Schumer's office didn't comment. Two communications policy lobbyists told us Schumer had “demanded” Starks remain longer to maximize the time the FCC remains deadlocked. Schumer hasn’t sent Starks a formal letter about staying, lobbyists said. Congressional Black Caucus leaders have also urged that Starks stay, the lobbyists said.
Starks has signaled he won’t leave so long as his departure would automatically shift the FCC to a Republican majority without the Senate first confirming a GOP nominee to the seat Rosenworcel is vacating, lobbyists told us. That would likely mean Starks will stay at least six months post-Jan. 20, depending on how long it takes a nominee for the third Republican commission seat to go through the Senate confirmation process, lobbyists said. Starks’ full reasoning for leaving isn’t clear, but the prospect of serving for four years in the minority is a factor, lobbyists said. The Senate confirmed Starks last year for a new term set to run through June 30, 2027 (see 2310020043).
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico and fellow Democrat Sen. Peter Welch of Vermont told us chatter about an early Starks departure was concerning, although they said their qualms aren’t about the commission’s partisan balance. “We need a functioning FCC” no matter its partisan makeup, Lujan said. The commission must be able to “make decisions for the good of the country based on their mission and the laws that they have to implement.”
Lujan said he wants Starks to “consider staying” given his ability "to work with Democrats and Republicans” on a range of issues. Starks “has been a great commissioner” and has an important perspective on communications policy, Welch said: “We also need to have the commission function,” but ultimately “it’s [Starks’] call” whether he wants to leave.
More Vacancies?
Simington has privately said he wants to leave, potentially to assume another role in the Trump administration, officials who follow GOP deliberations told us. Simington’s professional goals have changed since Trump won the election, lobbyists said. Simington was previously pursuing renomination to another FCC term (see 2407120035). His term expired June 30, but he can remain a commissioner until Jan. 3, 2026, absent Senate confirmation of another nominee.
Simington isn’t contemplating a departure as early as Jan. 20, with his timeline depending on when Trump aides decide what other role he might play in the administration and the nomination of another Republican to replace him at the FCC, lobbyists told us. GOP leaders have privately urged Simington not to depart too soon, which could let Democrats temporarily maintain an FCC majority even after Carr becomes chairman, lobbyists said. Simington’s office didn’t comment.
The potential for up to three FCC vacancies next year is amplifying speculation about potential replacement nominees. Lobbyists are mentioning three leading candidates to be Trump’s nominee for the Rosenworcel seat: Wiley’s Tom Johnson, a former FCC general counsel under former Chairman Ajit Pai; Arielle Roth, telecom policy director for Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas; and Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty. Senate Armed Services ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., a former Senate Commerce chairman, recommended Trusty for the role last month (see 2411220045).
Any of the three top contenders for Rosenworcel’s seat could also become replacements for Simington, lobbyists told us. Other names mentioned include Simington Chief of Staff Erin Boone, Simington Media and Wireline Adviser Adam Cassidy and The Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center Director Kara Frederick. Potential Stark replacements include NTIA Senior Adviser Phil Murphy, Treasury Department Capital Projects Fund Director Joey Wender and T-Mobile Senior Vice President-Government Affairs Smitty Smith.
Lobbyists identified Roth and former Trump administration acting NTIA Administrator Diane Rinaldo as contenders to lead NTIA under Trump. The president-elect took Gail Slater, an economic adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, out of contention Wednesday as a potential Republican FTC nominee, instead announcing her as his pick to lead the DOJ Antitrust Division (see 2412040049).