Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Thursday that his “expectation” remains that President Donald Trump will move on minority party nominees to the FCC and other commissions, despite Democrats’ concerns that the administration will choose to leave such seats empty (see 2504010053). Several Senate Commerce Committee Democrats who voted Wednesday to advance Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty said they won’t back her final confirmation unless the Trump administration commits to maintaining Democratic FCC seats, including picking a party-affiliated nominee to succeed retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2504300047).
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats used a Thursday confirmation hearing for deputy commerce secretary nominee Paul Dabbar to restate their concerns about the Trump administration’s commitment to the Commerce Department doling out appropriated broadband and semiconductor funding. Cantwell and Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also emphasized their diverging views on repurposing DOD airwaves for commercial 5G use, an issue that’s been a major sticking point in negotiations to include a spectrum title in a coming GOP-sought budget reconciliation package (see 2504180027).
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.
CPB and Democratic board members Laura Ross, Thomas Rothman and Diane Kaplan sued the Trump administration Tuesday, claiming their Monday dismissal was illegal. In a filing with the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia in docket 25-01305, they said Trent Morse, the White House deputy director-presidential personnel, emailed them Monday that President Donald Trump “had purportedly terminated their positions on the Board.” Morse’s email, included in the filing, told the three that they were “terminated effective immediately.” White House action against the board members came as Trump geared up to send Congress a spending rescissions package, which officials have said will call for rolling back $1.1 billion in advance CPB funding (see 2504150052).
Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty could get more support Wednesday from Senate Commerce Committee Democrats than NTIA administrator pick Arielle Roth drew earlier this month (see 2504090037), but lobbyists told us the likely tally remained in flux Tuesday afternoon. Panel Democrats gave Trusty a warm reception at her April 9 confirmation hearing (see 2504090060), after only one caucus member, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joined all 15 Republicans to advance Roth. Senate Commerce's Wednesday markup session will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Monday she's “not worried” about the possibility that President Donald Trump may fire her amid concerns it could happen if the Senate confirms Republican commission nominee Olivia Trusty. Senate approval of Trusty would give Republicans an outright majority at the FCC. As such, the commission would have a mandated three-member quorum without Gomez and fellow Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who plans to retire this spring (see 2503180067). The Senate Commerce Committee is set to vote Wednesday on advancing Trusty to the full chamber (see 2504230051).
Two top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats are voicing concerns that speculation that President Donald Trump may move to fire FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2503200057) will scare off potential Democratic candidates to replace retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Democratic FCC stakeholders began worrying about Gomez’s fate after Trump’s unprecedented March firings of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057). Legal experts said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to overturn Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 1935 decision stopping the president from firing FTC commissioners without cause, which has implications for the FCC and other independent agencies.
The U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., ordered the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM) on Tuesday to restore the shuttered Voice of America, Radio Free Asia and Middle Eastern Broadcast Network.
Two top Senate Armed Services Committee Republicans are voicing differing reviews of DOD’s recent proposal to the wireless industry to make 420 MHz from current military-controlled frequencies available for FCC auction while maintaining the Pentagon’s grip on the 3.1-3.45 GHz band (see 2504040068). Other lawmakers are skeptical that the proposal would lead to real progress toward an elusive spectrum legislative deal. Lobbyists pointed to the DOD proposal as aiming to dispel perceptions of an intransigent Pentagon but said it falls far short of the sort of compromise that Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, would likely accept.
President Donald Trump intends to request that Congress claw back about $1.1 billion in advance CPB funding as part of a broader $9.3 billion funding rescission package, White House OMB Director Russell Vought confirmed Tuesday. Set for later this month, the proposal reportedly targets $535 million in advance annual funding for CPB in fiscal years 2026 and 2027, which Congress allocated as part of an FY 2024 appropriations package (see 2403210067) and March continuing resolution that extended the allocation through Sept. 30. Congressional Republicans have shown growing interest since January in ending federal funding for public broadcasters amid rancor over what they perceive as pro-Democratic bias in news coverage (see 2502030064).