Senate Commerce Advances Trusty's FCC Confirmation; Democrats Press for Post-Starks Pairing
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty on a bipartisan vote Wednesday, as expected (see 2504290058), but Democrats made clear they won't allow a smooth confirmation process on the floor unless the Trump administration commits to picking a party-affiliated candidate to replace retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and five other panel Democrats voted for Trusty on Wednesday, even as misgivings about Starks' replacement and the FCC's independence during the Trump administration led seven caucus members to vote against the nominee.
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Senate Commerce also advanced two telecom bills Wednesday on voice votes: the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (S-259) and Enhancing First Response Act (S-725). The House passed S-259 companion HR-906 Monday night (see 2504290032).
Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, told us after the committee meeting that he doesn’t yet have a clear timeline for floor votes on Trusty. “I assume we’ll proceed promptly, [but] I don’t know how rapid[ly],” given that the panel advanced Trusty only Wednesday. Some communications industry lobbyists told us they expect a final Senate vote before the chamber begins its next recess the week of Memorial Day, potentially in tandem with NTIA nominee Arielle Roth, as originally intended.
Cruz acknowledged that Democrats’ concerns about maintaining minority seats at the FCC and other commissions may factor into whether they seek to delay Trusty’s confirmation process by placing holds on her, which would prevent the chamber from confirming the nominee via unanimous consent. “There are certainly Democrat senators who have expressed sentiments like that,” he said. “We'll see how those conversations proceed.” Two former Senate Democratic aides told us they expect at least one senator to place a hold on Trusty.
Pairings 'Important'
Cantwell said she decided to support Trusty after talking with Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., “about our ability to continue to move FCC nominations.” She said she believes that Trusty's testimony at her April 9 confirmation hearing (see 2504090060) “reflects her knowledge and experience on these policy issues. I may not always agree with her, but as long as [Thune] plans to continue to move nominees on both sides, I will continue to support her nomination.”
The other five Democrats who backed Trusty were Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin, John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, John Hickenlooper of Colorado, Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota and Jacky Rosen of Nevada. Communications Subcommittee ranking member Ben Ray Lujan of New Mexico was among the seven Democrats who voted against the nominee.
Cantwell later told us that Thune said he continues to believe that “the process we had in the past” of pairing Republican and Democratic nominees “is a good idea. He said he wanted to keep that policy.” That's “counter to what the White House” has been doing, she said. “That's an important question moving forward, and you can see that's in the mind of” many Democrats, given President Donald Trump's unprecedented firings of Democratic members of the FTC and other bodies.
Klobuchar and Rosen said they plan to oppose Trusty on the Senate floor unless the Trump administration makes commitments to retain two Democrats on the FCC. “I do not believe she will have my vote on the floor if [Senate Commerce has] not advanced a Democratic nominee” for Starks’ seat, Klobuchar said. Rosen said Trusty is "well qualified for the role, but I am deeply concerned with this administration's threats to independent commissions like the FCC.” Rosen “cannot commit to supporting her on the floor if there are no commitments from the White House that they will respect the independence of the FCC.”
'All Options'
Rosen and Sen. Brian Schatz of Hawaii, another of the seven Commerce Democrats who voted against Trusty on Wednesday, told us they don’t plan to place a hold on the nominee but suggested someone else might. “All options are on the table,” Rosen said. “What we don’t want to happen [at the FCC] is that this administration fires someone” or a commissioner otherwise resigns, and then Trump doesn’t name a replacement.
“I think it’s very unlikely that [Trusty] will move without a roll call vote” on the floor, Schatz said. “We’re going to stick with that tradition of pairing [nominees], but it takes two to tango.” He said Democrats are also taking a stand because FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s behavior since taking control of the agency Jan. 20 "has been alarming.”
Jonathan Walter, the Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights' tech policy counsel, told us before the Senate Commerce vote that he “would like to see a senator place a hold on [Trusty’s] nomination,” even though it would only delay her confirmation. Republicans hold a 53-47 majority in the Senate. The Leadership Conference and two other groups previously urged Senate Commerce leaders to delay Trusty’s confirmation process until they receive assurances that the Trump administration won’t subsequently fire the FCC’s Democratic commissioners (see 2504030067).
“The Senate confirmation process is meaningless if confirmed officials can just be summarily dismissed without cause immediately after confirmation,” Walter said. “This really raises questions about the effectiveness and purpose of the confirmation process itself.”