Senate Commerce Committee Democrats are already signaling that they're unlikely to give new NTIA administrator pick Arielle Roth a free pass through her confirmation process, particularly given their amplified doubts about how the agency-administered, $42.5 billion BEAD program will fare under Howard Lutnick, the commerce secretary nominee (see 2501290047). Several Senate Commerce Democrats are likely to vote against Lutnick at a Wednesday panel meeting, but lobbyists told us he is all but certain to advance to the floor with unified GOP support.
House Oversight Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) Subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, R-Ga., pressed NPR and PBS executives Monday to testify at a March hearing on “federally funded radio and television, including its systemically biased content.” Greene’s request followed FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s call last week for the Enforcement and Media bureaus to investigate PBS and NPR member stations over possible underwriting violations (see 2501300065). President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency advisory group has eyed NPR and PBS funder CPB as a potential target (see 2411220042).
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said Monday night that President Donald Trump is nominating panel Republican Telecom Policy Director Arielle Roth as NTIA's leader, as expected. Lobbyists had previously also tipped Roth as a top contender for former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s seat but Trump nominated Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty for that role instead. Roth was previously a legislative aide to former Senate Commerce member Roy Blunt, R-Mo., O’Rielly’s wireline adviser and a Wireline Bureau legal adviser. She also had stints at the Hudson Institute and Federalist Society.
The White House OMB rescinded its stayed memo that called for a freeze on most federal grants and loans, bowing to mounting criticism of the plan’s breadth even after it partially walked it back Tuesday (see 2501280051). The now-rescinded freeze would have paused NTIA’s disbursal of $42.5 billion from the BEAD program and other Commerce Department initiatives, commerce secretary nominee Howard Lutnick acknowledged during his Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing Wednesday.
Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and other leaders acknowledged in recent interviews that long-standing DOD objections to repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and other military-controlled frequencies remain an impediment to GOP hopes of using an upcoming budget reconciliation package to move on spectrum legislation (see 2501070069). Lawmakers and lobbyists said DOD concerns could prevent Congress from including anything beyond a simple restoration of the FCC’s lapsed auction authority in a reconciliation package, an outcome that would fall short of wireless industry wishes for a refilled spectrum pipeline.
Olivia Trusty, President Donald Trump’s intended nominee for the FCC seat former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel vacated last week, faces a uncertain confirmation timeline amid a glut of higher-profile nominees the Senate must process in the coming weeks. Trump said shortly before his return to office that he intended to pick Trusty for an FCC seat (see 2501160064) but as of Friday afternoon had not formally nominated her. It’s possible that the Senate Commerce Committee could hold a confirmation hearing for Trusty in February, but it's likelier to wait until the panel can pair her with a Trump NTIA administrator pick and other subcabinet nominees, some lobbyists told us.
House Commerce Committee leaders drew battle lines during and after a Thursday Communications Subcommittee hearing over GOP proposals to move spectrum legislation as part of an upcoming budget reconciliation package (see 2501070069). House Commerce ranking member Frank Pallone of New Jersey and other Democrats strongly objected to using reconciliation as a spectrum vehicle because it would allocate future license sales revenue to fund tax cuts instead of telecom priorities. Lawmakers from both parties again cited long-standing DOD objections to repurposing the 3.1-3.45 GHz band and other military-controlled frequencies as a continued flashpoint in spectrum legislative talks in this Congress (see 2501070069).
House Commerce Committee leaders are cautioning that the Communications Subcommittee’s planned Thursday spectrum policy hearing isn’t necessarily an indication that the panel will seek early action on an airwaves legislative package. Some lawmakers and lobbyists instead said the hearing is aimed at educating the subpanel’s crop of new members on the complicated dynamics at play in the spectrum legislative debate. New House Commerce Chairman Brett Guthrie of Kentucky and other Republicans are eyeing using an upcoming budget reconciliation package to move on spectrum legislation (see 2501070069).
Incoming President Donald Trump said Friday he has tapped former Special Assistant to the President-Technology, Telecommunications and Cybersecurity Policy Robin Colwell as National Economic Council deputy director. Meanwhile, additional communications industry entities hailed Thursday night and Friday Trump’s choice of Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty as his intended nominee for the FCC seat that then-Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel planned to vacate Monday (see 2501160077).
President-elect Donald Trump said Thursday he plans to nominate Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty to the FCC seat that current Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will vacate Jan. 20. Multiple former FCC officials and communications sector lobbyists told us they expected Trump would also announce as soon as Thursday that Senate Commerce Committee Republican Telecom Policy Director Arielle Roth is his pick for NTIA administrator. A range of ex-FCC officials and other observers previously named Trusty and Roth as top contenders for the Rosenworcel seat, although some believed Roth’s ties to Senate Commerce Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, made her a slight front-runner (see 2412110046).