Incoming Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, objects to a proposal from panel Democratic leaders to have a third confirmation hearing on FCC nominee Gigi Sohn almost immediately after the committee formally organizes, Hill aides and lobbyists told us. Sohn’s supporters want Senate Commerce to expedite its handling of Sohn’s confirmation process as much as possible, but Republicans want a full re-vetting of the nominee (see 2301030060). Senate Commerce’s organization itself is unlikely until sometime next week given expectations Wednesday that the chamber won’t be able to vote on an overall organizing resolution until Tuesday at the earliest.
The Senate Commerce Committee’s schedule for reconsidering FCC nominee Gigi Sohn remained unclear before the chamber’s expected Monday return from a more than two-week recess, with lobbyists and other observers saying chamber organizational uncertainties are the main barrier. President Joe Biden renominated Sohn this month, setting up a third partisan showdown with Republicans after the Senate stalled her confirmation process in 2021 and 2022 (see 2301030060). Friday marked two years since the FCC began operating with a 2-2 split, following former Chairman Ajit Pai’s resignation the day Biden took office (see 2101210067).
Several of the nine Republicans the House GOP Steering Committee added to the Commerce Committee roster Wednesday have been involved in communications, cybersecurity and privacy policymaking. House GOP leadership, meanwhile, formally named Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash., as Commerce chair Tuesday, as expected (see 2211170089). Former panel Chairman Frank Pallone, D-N.J., will stay on as ranking member during this Congress (see 2301030064).
National Hispanic Media Coalition CEO Brenda Castillo and the leaders of 20 other groups urged President Joe Biden a day before he renominated Gigi Sohn to be the third FCC Democrat (see 2301030060) to instead “nominate a person of Latino descent” to the commission. Two of the names of potential candidates to replace Sohn as Biden’s FCC nominee before Tuesday -- former acting NTIA Administrator Anna Gomez, ex-Wiley, and NASA Chief of Staff Susie Perez Quinn -- are Latina (see 2212300044). The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (see 2102110043) and others began pressing Biden to nominate a Latino FCC commissioner in early 2021.
Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., stopped short Tuesday of agreeing to a push from Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., for a full re-vetting of FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, after her re-selection to be the commission’s third Democrat (see 2301030060). Other Sohn supporters, meanwhile, hailed her renomination and urged the Senate not to unnecessarily delay advancing her. President Joe Biden first nominated Sohn to the FCC in October 2021 (see 2110260076), but her confirmation process never made it past the committee level. Senate Commerce tied 14-14 on advancing her in March (see 2203030070), leading to a monthslong stall.
Senate Commerce Committee Republicans will insist that panel leaders allow another full vetting process for Gigi Sohn following her expected Tuesday renomination (see 2212300044), Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota said in a Tuesday interview. President Joe Biden formally renominated Sohn to the FCC seat Tuesday, after a senior White House official confirmed to us that her reselection was imminent (see 2301030026).
President Joe Biden intends to nominate Gigi Sohn for a third time to a vacant FCC seat, as expected, a senior White House official confirmed to us Tuesday. The Senate formally adjourned sine die just before noon EST Tuesday, formally sending Sohn’s stalled 2022 nomination to the commission back to the White House. Biden first nominated Sohn in October 2021, kicking off more than a year of partisan fighting about her confirmation that saw a handful of Democrats raise misgivings about her amid unified GOP opposition. Sohn’s supporters hope her third try for the FCC will be easier given the Senate shifted to an outright Democratic majority Tuesday, but lawmakers and lobbyists told us there’s no guarantee the Commerce Committee will be able to swiftly move her to the floor.
Supporters of FCC nominee Gigi Sohn have gotten indications the Biden administration wants to renominate her in January, but there’s been no definitive word this will happen amid uncertain internal Senate dynamics. That lack of clarity in part stems from Senate leaders not yet being able to guarantee Sohn would get as swift a confirmation process as the White House and others want, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. The Senate failed to hold any floor votes on Sohn before the chamber left town just before Christmas, and it won’t return until just before the 118th Congress gavels in Tuesday. Sohn’s 2022 confirmation process stalled in March after the Commerce Committee tied 14-14 on advancing her to the floor (see 2203030070). Biden first nominated her in October 2021 (see 2110260076).
The revised March 9 expiration date for the FCC’s auction authority included in the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus package (HR-2617) is spurring House Communications Subcommittee leaders’ interest in quickly reaching a new deal on a spectrum legislative package when talks reconvene at the start of the 118th Congress. Capitol Hill passed the short-term reauthorization after the leaders of the House and Senate Commerce committees weren’t able to attach the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (see 2212190069), a package of modified language from the upper chamber's version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (S-4117) and other related measures, to the omnibus. Senate Commerce leaders are divided on whether they will be able to advance the legislative package largely in its current form in the next Congress (see 2212270029).
Senate Commerce Committee leaders who spearheaded a stymied bid to attach the Spectrum Auction Reauthorization Act (see 2212190069) to the FY 2023 appropriations omnibus bill (HR-2617) are divided on whether they will be able to advance the proposal largely in its current form in the next Congress. The reauth package included modified language from the chamber's version of the Spectrum Innovation Act (S-4117) and other related measures. President Joe Biden signed off Friday night on a continuing resolution that extends the FCC's spectrum auction authority through Dec. 30 (HR-4373) to allow further time for HR-2617's enrolled version to make it to his desk. Congress included language in the omnibus that renews the FCC's remit through March 9, in lieu of the spectrum deal language. The March 9 deadline is spurring lawmakers’ interest in quickly reaching a new deal when talks reconvene at the start of the 118th Congress.