The departure of Commissioner Geoffrey Starks from the FCC (see 2503180067) probably won’t have a major effect on companies that the FCC regulates, New Street’s Blair Levin said in a research note Tuesday. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr doesn’t “need a majority to do what he wants to do,” Levin said. “Partly this is due to defining the job differently than past chairs, emphasizing the power of the bully pulpit to cause Congress and others to act more than relying on formal FCC decisions,” he said: “Given his agenda, the bureaus can, under his direction, do many of the things he wants without a full Commission vote.”

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission has sent letters to 20 law firms -- including Cooley, Perkins Coie and Hogan Lovells -- about their diversity policies, said an EEOC release Monday. The letters from EEOC acting Chair Andrea Lucas point to diversity, equity and inclusion efforts mentioned on the firms' websites and public releases, accusing them of discrimination. The White House previously targeted Perkins Coie and Covington & Burling in an executive order and memo (see 2503120049). “It appears likely that Cooley disparately provides access to certain privileges of employment (training and leadership development) based on its employees’ race or other protected characteristics,” says the EEOC letter to Cooley.

Having states redo their BEAD programs in light of Commerce moving away from a fiber-centric approach (see 2503050067) could cause delays of "a year plus," community broadband nonprofit Connect Humanity blogged last week. Easing use of alternative technologies like satellite broadband is "like replacing a bridge with a ferry service -- cheaper in the short term, but less effective and far more costly over the long haul," it said. A fiber focus doesn't preclude the use of other technologies, but BEAD funding "should continue to prioritize fiber as the most effective, durable infrastructure to connect America."

The argument that the FTC can't adopt rules affecting more than one industry -- such as the agency's "click to cancel" rule -- is contrary to statutory text, case law and decades of practice, the FTC told the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in a brief Monday (docket 24-3137). NCTA is among the parties challenging the "click to cancel" rule (see 2411220029). In its response brief, the FTC said the statute authorizing its rulemaking includes no multiple-industry restriction, and it has a long history of cross-industry rulemaking. The FTC said click to cancel doesn't bar "negative option" programs where buyers are charged on a recurring basis unless they take steps to cancel. Instead, it adopts measures that prohibit material misrepresentations and requires disclosure of information such as how much and when a consumer will be charged.

The White House executive order asserting control over executive branch agencies (see 2502280048) looks “dramatic” but “changes little,” said a blog post Monday from American Enterprise Institute nonresident Senior Fellow Mark Jamison, a former member of President Donald Trump’s transition team. “Independent agencies have long been subject to political influence, and their supposed autonomy is more myth than reality,” Jamison wrote. “For decades, presidents and lawmakers have found ways to steer their agendas.” The order “can be seen as simply formalizing what has already been happening.” Critics “are reacting to an idealized version of regulatory independence that doesn’t exist in practice,” he said. “The real issue isn’t whether presidents exert influence over these agencies -- it’s that agency leaders have often ceded their independence voluntarily, undermining confidence in regulatory neutrality.”

President Donald Trump signed off Saturday on a continuing resolution that extends current federal funding levels for the FCC, NTIA and other agencies through Sept. 30. The Senate voted 54-46 Friday night to approve the House-passed CR, as expected (see 2503140069).

The public remains ignorant about GPS' importance and the need for a supplement to it, the Resilient Navigation and Timing Foundation blogged Friday. Pointing to a NextNav survey, RNTF said the fact that a minority of respondents found most arguments for GPS backup "very convincing" -- even though the questions seemed designed to elicit that response -- shows that the foundation's public education efforts need to be more successful.

The FCC’s investigation of iHeartMedia over payola (see 2502240070) was sparked by requests made to Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., by “musicians and band members,” she told FCC Chairman Brendan Carr on Friday's episode of her podcast, Unmuted With Marsha. “In Tennessee, we've got a lot of people that play in bands and spend a lot of time on the road,” said Blackburn, who, in part, represents country music center Nashville. She responded to the request by sending a letter to Carr, who, in turn, sent one to iHeart. “A radio station can't secretly exchange free performances from musicians or bands in exchange for better airplay on the radio,” Carr said. “And the evidence we've seen suggests that in fact, that has been happening significantly.” Blackburn said, “To some of the band members for the big-name musicians, expenses is one thing, but payment for the show is another.”

Two FCC facilities are listed among government real estate leases marked for termination by the Department of Government Efficiency, according to the DOGE website. The FCC didn’t respond to requests for comment on the listings, but the leases appear to be Enforcement Bureau field offices in Dallas and Cerritos, California. An internal General Services Administration planning document said those leases would be canceled Sept. 30, according to an Associated Press report. DOGE lists the termination of the Cerritos lease as saving $142,637 a year and the Dallas lease as saving $60,630 a year. The FCC didn’t respond to questions about whether the canceled leases would influence Enforcement Bureau field coverage or involve a reduction in personnel. After then-Chairman Tom Wheeler cut several EB field offices in 2015, FCC Republicans -- including former Chairman Ajit Pai -- voiced their opposition (see 1507160036).

The Senate voted 62-38 at our deadline Friday afternoon to invoke cloture on a House-passed continuing resolution (HR-1968), which would extend current federal funding levels for the FCC, NTIA and other federal agencies through Sept. 30 (see 2503100060). The vote came after many hours of uncertainty about whether enough Democrats would back clearing the procedural hurdle. The chamber appeared likely to pass HR-1868 Friday evening, averting a shutdown, which would otherwise begin for some agencies when an existing CR, passed in December, was set to expire late that night (see 2412230024).