Civil Rights Groups Urge Senate to Delay Trusty Confirmation Hearing Amid Trump FCC Worries
The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night that it plans an April 9 confirmation hearing for Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty, as expected (see 2504010053). A panel vote on NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth will precede the hearing. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights, UnidosUS and the United Church of Christ Media Justice Ministry responded to the announcement Thursday by calling on Senate Commerce leaders to delay Trusty’s consideration until they get assurances from the Trump administration that it won’t subsequently fire the FCC’s Democratic commissioners. FCC observers have questioned whether President Donald Trump might ax the commission's Democrats after his disputed firing last month of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503200057).
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!
Trusty will appear before Senate Commerce alongside NASA administrator nominee Jared Isaacman, the panel said. The hearing will happen immediately after Senate Commerce’s meeting to vote on Roth, which will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. Roth is likely to clear the committee with support from most or all Republicans, but lobbyists told us they will be closely watching how many Democrats vote for her, given that ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and other party-affiliated members said immediately after her confirmation hearing last week that they were considering opposing the nominee (see 2503270065).
The civil rights groups said Senate Commerce leaders should delay Trusty’s hearing until they “have a binding written assurance from the administration that the current” FCC “will remain fully staffed -- with five commissioners, including current Democratic commissioners -- for the duration of” Trump’s second term. The panel should also “follow past practice and confirm a replacement for Commissioner [Geoffrey] Starks’ seat alongside” Trusty, the groups said in a letter to Cantwell and Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas. Communications policy observers are concerned Trump might not pick a Democratic nominee to succeed Starks, who said last month he would resign from the commission this spring (see 2503180067).
The groups said they want to delay the confirmation process because they are “concerned” Trump may fire Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez once the Senate approves Trusty, who would be the third GOP member. The Communications Act requires “the maximum number of commissioners who may be members of the same political party shall be a number equal to the least number of commissioners which constitutes a majority of the full membership of the Commission,” so a three-member commission of two Republicans and one Democrat would satisfy the statute. The Trump administration is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn its 1935 Humphrey's Executor v. U.S. precedent, which allows the president to fire commissioners at the FTC and other independent agencies only for cause. Bedoya and Slaughter sued Trump last week, saying their firings were illegal (see 2503270056).
Congress created the FCC “as an independent agency with the critical mission to ensure universal connectivity, promote diverse voices in our media ecosystem, and protect consumers from fraud through robocalls and other means,” the groups said. “The commission’s ability to efficiently and effectively fulfill these vital functions depends upon maintaining its full bipartisan set of five commissioners as Congress intended. Any attempt to illegally remove” Gomez, especially now that Starks intends to leave, “would severely undermine the agency’s independence and statutory mission at a time when regulatory oversight of our communications infrastructure is more essential than ever.”
Senate Commerce didn't comment. Cantwell told us Thursday she thinks the panel is holding Trusty's hearing “too early.” She said her office didn't “have any of [Trusty's] paperwork,” including important background materials.