Republicans Eye Possible Simington Successors as His Chief of Staff Draws Spotlight

The Senate left town Thursday night without a clear answer about how much leaders will accelerate their timeline for confirmation votes on Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty. June Senate votes on Trusty and NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth already appeared possible. Lobbyists previously thought that leaders were likelier to tee them up in July, ahead of Congress’ August recess (see 2505290053).

“I certainly hope” the Senate will prioritize floor time for Trusty this month, Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a brief interview. “I’d prefer that we move on her expeditiously,” particularly now that Simington’s departure means Republicans won’t have the FCC majority they had projected following Starks’ previously announced exit.

Lobbyists and officials said Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., is aware of the potential problems that the additional FCC vacancies could cause for Chairman Brendan Carr’s agenda and wants to speed up the timeline for Trusty. However, Thune also faces a glut of other nominees whom the Trump administration wants him to prioritize, and he will need to expend significant floor time this month to advance a budget reconciliation package to meet GOP leaders’ self-imposed deadline, lobbyists said. Thune filed cloture Thursday on a trio of Trump’s nominees, and the chamber already had two others in the pipeline for confirmation votes.

Wax Factor

Wax, already tipped by some as a top contender to succeed Simington (see 2506030069), drew further attention Friday when Bannon endorsed him. “I don’t think they can do better” than Wax as an FCC nominee, Bannon said on his podcast. Wax “is one of the most extraordinary young men I’ve ever met, [one of] these young fire-breathers that you need to kind of rejuvenate these alphabet agencies.” Bannon invoked the “madness with the broadcast networks,” which he said are no longer adequately providing “a public service [via their] news coverage.” Simington appeared on Bannon’s podcast in early May (see 2505050030).

Several industry officials told us that Wax’s sudden entrance into the telecom sphere -- combined with Simington’s concurrent hard-line shift, blitz of co-bylined columns with Wax, and the commissioner's sudden exit -- seemed aimed at setting Wax up as a candidate. The 31-year-old would be the youngest person ever appointed FCC commissioner. Many industry officials said Wax, who joined Simington’s staff at the end of April, has little experience in telecom. Wax declined to comment.

Several conservative-leaning communications industry officials and lobbyists who are Wax critics continued to insist he would have trouble getting support from enough of the Senate's 53 Republicans to win confirmation in the face of likely unanimous Democratic opposition. However, many industry officials pointed out that the second Trump administration has named many appointees with problematic backgrounds, and both Trump and Vice President JD Vance have amplified and otherwise acknowledged Wax's public comments.

Wax’s critics point to Bannon’s endorsement as just the latest in a litany of potential red flags, particularly for more moderate GOP senators like Bill Cassidy of Louisiana, Susan Collins of Maine and Lisa Murkowski of Alaska. Wax, a former president of the New York Young Republican Club, gave a speech in December in which he said that Republicans in power should seek to “make our enemies afraid again” and that he has met with authoritarian Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on multiple occasions. The Southern Poverty Law Center flagged Wax last week, in part citing racist statements by contributors to the Liberty Conservative, a publication he founded.

Other Candidates

Wax’s critics pointed to several other potential Simington replacements, including FCC General Counsel Adam Candeub and Simington's former chief of staff, Adam Cassady, now acting NTIA administrator. Lobbyists also pointed to Jamie Susskind, legislative director for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and Jade Winfree, the Government Accountability Office’s Senate Commerce detailee to Cruz, as contenders. Other names lobbyists cited as possible nominees included National Economic Council Deputy Director Robin Colwell, House Communications Subcommittee Chief GOP Counsel Kate O’Connor Harper and Digital Progress Institute President Joel Thayer.

Lobbyists and officials said Carr is backing Candeub. Carr had the same job -- FCC general counsel under then-Chairman Ajit Pai -- when Trump nominated him to the agency in 2017 (see 1706280068). Candeub was acting NTIA administrator during part of Trump’s first term and a Michigan State University professor who authored a chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 plan. In 2018, he represented white supremacist Jared Taylor in a lawsuit over the removal of Taylor’s Twitter account.

Candeub, the FCC and Carr’s office didn’t respond to requests for comment. Cassady declined to comment.

Some officials also described talk that Trump may seek to pull Roth’s NTIA nomination and instead name her to Simington’s seat. Trump in January said he would nominate Roth, who has been Senate Commerce Republicans’ lead telecom counsel, to the NTIA role after selecting Trusty for an FCC seat (see 2502040056). Senate Commerce advanced Roth’s nomination in early April (see 2504090037). A former Republican FCC official told us Cruz indicated during a conversation after Trump won a second term in November that he had asked the now-president “at least three times to nominate [Roth] for the FCC, which is her first choice.”

Cruz sidestepped a question Thursday about whether he would like Trump to move Roth to the FCC slot. The NTIA administrator role “is an incredibly important position, particularly with the upcoming spectrum auctions” that Republican lawmakers want to authorize via reconciliation (see 2506060029), Cruz told us. Roth “has the expertise to lead that effort and to do an excellent job.”