Trump Seen Nominating Rosenworcel's FCC Replacement Soon After FTC Moves
Communications industry lobbyists told us they expect President-elect Donald Trump to soon follow his pair of Tuesday night FTC selections (see 2412100073) with a nominee for the FCC seat Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans to vacate Jan. 20. The lobbyists mentioned Arielle Roth, telecom policy director for Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as the apparent front-runner for the nomination, though the Trump team hasn’t yet made a final decision. Trump said Tuesday he’s picking Republican FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as permanent chair of the commission and will nominate Mark Meador, a former antitrust staffer for Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah., to the commission seat that Chair Lina Khan currently holds.
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A Trump pick to replace Rosenworcel is “in the works,” but the transition team is “considering a few names,” a Republican former FCC official said. Several telecom lobbyists expect the nomination announcement before the end of December. Roth is one of several people identified as top contenders since Trump won a second term in November. Lobbyists also still consider Senate Armed Services Committee Republican staffer Olivia Trusty as a top contender. There is more uncertainty about whether Wiley’s Tom Johnson, a potential candidate who was FCC general counsel under former Chairman Ajit Pai, would be willing to leave the private sector to become a commissioner, lobbyists said.
A telecom lobbyist who follows Republican deliberations said Cruz is urging Trump behind the scenes to pick Roth, giving her a clear advantage over other contenders. Cruz told us Wednesday he’s “going to keep my conversations with the Trump team” on potential FCC nominees “confidential." The lawmaker previously planned earlier this year to back Roth as a replacement for sitting Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington before the incumbent announced he wanted President Joe Biden to renominate him to a second term (see 2407120035), lobbyists said. Simington’s interest in remaining at the FCC now appears in doubt (see 2412040046).
Senate Armed Services ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., told us Wednesday he hasn’t yet heard from the Trump team about his endorsement of Trusty last month (see 2411220045). “Everybody in town knows that she’s a solid conservative and an absolutely remarkable public servant in every way,” Wicker said. Trump is likely to give more weight to Cruz's wishes because he will become Senate Commerce chairman next month, lobbyists said. Observers believe that’s likely to outweigh Wicker’s endorsement, but Trusty could instead be a contender for another FCC vacancy if Simington departs.
Digital First Project Executive Director Nathan Leamer, who served as an aide to Pai, countered that he doesn’t see a “favorite” for the Rosenworcel seat at this point. “Anyone handicapping the candidates before they have done a meeting” with Trump “is far out over their skis,” Leamer told us. Roth “clearly has been part of deliberations” and Trusty is also “excellent.” But he mentioned Johnson; Jamie Susskind, legislative director for Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn.; and The Heritage Foundation Tech Policy Center Director Kara Frederick as contenders.
Ferguson “has a proven record of standing up to Big Tech censorship, and protecting Freedom of Speech in our Great Country,” Trump said about his choice to head the FTC. He “will be able to fight on behalf of the American People on Day One of my Administration.” Ferguson “will be the most America First, and pro-innovation FTC Chair in our Country’s History,” Trump added. Ferguson has been a commissioner since April. A member of the Kressin Meador Powers antitrust law firm, Meador earlier worked at the FTC and DOJ Antitrust Division. Lobbyists previously identified him as a contender for either an FTC seat or to lead DOJ Antitrust (see 2411260045).
Ferguson said Tuesday night that as FTC chairman he will lead the commission in ending “Big Tech’s vendetta against competition and free speech. We will make sure that America is the world’s technological leader and the best place for innovators to bring new ideas to life.” Ferguson’s pitch to the Trump team centered in part on his not needing Senate confirmation for a new term until 2030 and focusing FTC antitrust enforcement “against Big Tech monopolies, especially those companies engaged in unlawful censorship.”
Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, Trump's choice to helm that agency, praised the selection of Ferguson during a news conference following the commission’s Wednesday open meeting. Ferguson “has staked out an aggressive agenda that aligns with a lot of my own thinking on reining in Big Tech,” Carr said: Trump’s pick of Meador for the FTC and Gail Slater, an economic adviser to Vice President-elect JD Vance, as DOJ Antitrust head (see 2412040049), means “there should be a really good opportunity for all of us to work together on some really important issues.” Free Press and Fight for the Future criticized Trump’s planned elevation of Ferguson to the FTC chair.