House Oversight Foreign Affairs Subcommittee Republicans tried to keep a Wednesday hearing focused on how to strengthen U.S. telecom networks’ security after the 2024 Chinese government-affiliated Salt Typhoon hacking incident (see 2411190073). But it quickly shifted to a series of partisan barbs over Trump administration officials’ leaked communications about plans for an airstrike in Yemen on messaging app Signal. Republicans have been attempting to pivot from the week-plus fallout over “Signalgate,” with White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt telling reporters Monday that “this case has been closed … as far as we are concerned.”
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chair Deb Fischer, R-Neb., pressed the nominee for Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, retired Lt. Gen. Dan Caine, during his Armed Services Committee confirmation Tuesday on whether he thinks DOD should have a “meaningful co-leadership” role “in any interagency determinations about the future use of federal spectrum.” A leading opponent of efforts to use a coming budget reconciliation package to repurpose any DOD-controlled spectrum for commercial wireless use, Fischer has repeatedly brought up the matter during other military nominees’ confirmation hearings (see 2502270064). Her views on DOD spectrum put Fischer in conflict with Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas (see 2502190068).
Top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats told us they are considering, but aren't yet committed to, scaling back or ceasing cooperation in advancing Republican nominees to federal entities ahead of a likely imminent panel confirmation hearing for GOP FCC nominee Olivia Trusty. Democrats are eyeing the tactic shift in response to President Donald Trump’s disputed March firing of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057) and other actions against independent agencies. Any roadblocks Democrats place against GOP picks would be largely symbolic and likely only delay Senate confirmations, given Republicans' 53-47 majority in the upper chamber, observers said.
The House Commerce Committee's Democratic leaders said Monday that they have launched an investigation into FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s “attacks on the First Amendment and his weaponization of the independent agency,” including multiple broadcaster probes he has initiated since taking over Jan. 20 (see 2502130060). Meanwhile, House Communications Subcommittee Chairman Richard Hudson of North Carolina and 72 other Republican lawmakers are urging the FCC to “modernize” its “outdated” broadcast ownership rules to remove “undue constraints on broadcasters’ ability to innovate and invest in local content.”
Bharat Ramamurti, National Economic Council deputy director during part of the Biden administration, criticized X owner Elon Musk on Friday for “amplifying” a “deeply misleading clip” of New York Times' Ezra Klein blaming Democrats for NTIA’s evaluation process for state-level applicants to the $42.5 billion BEAD program. Congress mandated the BEAD process in the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. GOP lawmakers and the Trump administration are determining how to revamp BEAD after consistently criticizing how the Biden-era NTIA administered the program. Senate Commerce Committee Democrats raised concerns about GOP BEAD plans during a Thursday confirmation hearing for NTIA nominee Arielle Roth (see 2503270065).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, revealed during a Thursday hearing that multiple commercial aircraft landing at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA) March 1 received false traffic alert collision avoidance system (TCAS) alerts because the Secret Service and U.S. Navy were “improperly testing counter drone technology” in the area on the L-band, “the same spectrum band as TCAS.” The disclosure also factored into Senate Commerce's confirmation hearing for NTIA nominee Arielle Roth (see 2503270065), which examined her spectrum policy views.
Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and several more panel Democrats indicated Thursday that they are undecided or may vote against NTIA nominee Arielle Roth amid frustration over the nominee's responses to questions about how she plans to revamp the agency’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz of Texas and other committee Republicans signaled during the sparsely attended hearing that they strongly back Roth, who has been their telecom policy director. Republican and Democratic Senate Commerce members used the hearing to sound off on the Biden administration’s handling of BEAD and reemphasize their positions on protracted negotiations on a potential spectrum legislative package, as expected (see 2503250055).
House Oversight Committee members in both parties appeared not to move from their existing positions on cutting federal CPB funding after a dramatic Delivering on Government Efficiency Subcommittee hearing on perceived public broadcasting bias Wednesday (see 2503210040). GOP lawmakers appeared to still favor zeroing the money, with some telling us they want to push it through via a coming budget reconciliation package rather than wait for the FY 2026 appropriations process. Democrats backed maintaining the CPB appropriation and mocked Republicans for holding the hearing instead of probing perceived Trump administration abuses. CPB funding opponents got a boost when President Donald Trump told reporters Tuesday afternoon that he “would love to” see Congress defund public broadcasters.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, drew some colleagues’ incredulity Wednesday after his office released a letter to Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth seeking documents that could support his claim that military officials during the Biden administration circumvented federal lobbying restrictions by pressuring defense contractors to lobby against spectrum legislation.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, praised Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick during a Free State Foundation event Tuesday for moving toward what he hopes will be a major overhaul of NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program. Other panel members told us they plan to grill agency administrator nominee Arielle Roth on the issue during her Thursday confirmation hearing. Lobbyists we spoke with expect Roth will face heat from Senate Commerce Democrats on BEAD because she's the committee Republicans’ telecom policy director, but they don’t believe this means the nominee will face an otherwise contentious reception. Thursday's hearing is set for 2:15 p.m. in 253 Russell.