Vance Amplifies Simington's Chief of Staff on Social Media
Vice President JD Vance on Tuesday amplified a social media post from Gavin Wax, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington’s chief of staff, on improving American manufacturing and competing with China. “Important point by Gavin,” Vance wrote in support of Wax's post about making American-made tech products competitive globally. Vance chiming in to support Wax is the latest example of prominent figures connected with President Donald Trump’s administration weighing in on issues raised by Simington and Wax since the latter joined Simington’s staff late last month. Since then, the two have authored a string of co-bylined articles on mostly FCC-centric topics that nevertheless are drawing attention from powerful Republicans. Trump himself reposted Simington and Wax’s article on broadcasting network affiliate fees (see 2505020066), and Simington recently appeared on the shows of former lawmaker Matt Gaetz and former Trump strategist Steve Bannon to discuss his articles with Wax.
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Wax and Simington published another article Tuesday, endorsing the previous administration’s cyber trust mark program, which was approved by commissioners 5-0 last year (see 2403140034). IoT devices “promise convenience and efficiency, but they also pose an unprecedented cybersecurity challenge,” they wrote: “From smart thermostats to baby monitors, each device can become a potential gateway for cyberattacks.” The development of the cyber trust mark (CTM) attempted to meet this challenge, they said. “While we take issue with many elements of that administration’s broader regulatory agenda, the CTM represents a rare case of smart, market-aligned governance.”
In Tuesday’s post, echoed by Vance, Wax wrote, “The real issue is ensuring we have a policy environment that allows American-made technology to not only exist but actually compete and win in both domestic and global markets.” Vance said the administration's goal is “to make more of our own stuff, but also to enable great American products to be exported all over the world.” This “is a big part of why President Trump seeks to reduce non-tariff barriers other countries put on American goods,” Vance said.
“Well said, Mr. Vice President,” Simington responded in a follow-up post. “Fair trade means reciprocity.”