The U.S. Office of Personnel Management has kicked off a rulemaking to bring back Schedule F under a new name and reclassify some federal employees to make them easier to fire, according to a fact sheet issued Friday by the White House. The change will allow agencies to “swiftly remove employees in policy-influencing roles for poor performance, misconduct, corruption, or subversion of Presidential directives, without lengthy procedural hurdles,” the fact sheet said. The National Treasury Employees Union -- which represents FCC staff -- didn’t comment Monday but filed a lawsuit in January over the executive order reviving Schedule F (see 2501220080).
The American Federation of Government Employees condemned reported White House plans to revive Schedule F reclassification of civil servants. President Trump’s administration is planning to resurrect Schedule F under a new name, Schedule Policy/Career, Axios reported Friday. The rule change would strip numerous federal employees from civil service protections against termination, making them easier to fire at will. “President Trump’s action to politicize the work of tens of thousands of career federal employees will erode the government’s merit-based hiring system and undermine the professional civil service that Americans rely on,” said AFGE National President Everett Kelley in a release. “This is another in a series of deliberate moves by this administration to corrupt the federal government and replace qualified public servants with political cronies.”
A federal appellate court's rejection of a $57 million FCC fine -- calling it unconstitutional -- could force the agency to revisit and overhaul its enforcement processes. The agency clearly has authority to enforce laws requiring telecommunications companies to protect sensitive customer data, but the FCC "must do so consistent with our Constitution’s guarantees of an Article III decisionmaker and a jury trial," a three-judge panel of the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled last week as it vacated the fine against AT&T that stemmed from handling of customer data. T-Mobile and Verizon are challenging similar fines levied in the same April 2024 enforcement action. In siding with AT&T, the court said it was guided by the U.S. Supreme Court's 2024 Jarkesy decision regarding whether federal regulatory agencies can bring in-house proceedings to enforce civil penalties.
Comcast news outlets' coverage of the controversial deportation of Kilmar Abrego Garcia could be news distortion that violates FCC rules, Chairman Brendan Carr wrote Wednesday night on X. "Comcast knows that federal law requires its licensed operations to serve the public interest," he said in his post, which was in response to a post by White House Communications Director Steven Cheung criticizing CNN and MSNBC coverage. "News distortion doesn’t cut it," Carr said. Comcast is "ignor[ing] ... facts of obvious public interest" regarding Abrego Garcia and his deportation. Comcast didn't comment Thursday. The FCC under Carr has a pending news distortion investigation against CBS about 60 Minutes' coverage of the 2024 presidential campaign (see 2502050063).
The Trump administration’s growing list of executive orders targeting law firms may have only limited implications for the FCC, industry lawyers told us. Nonetheless, observers said they see the growing list of targeted firms as an unprecedented assault aimed at chilling opposition to the administration.
Telnyx, which is facing a proposed $4.5 million notice of apparent liability (NAL) from the FCC (see 2503050026), has been reinstated to the Industry Traceback Group (ITG). Telnyx said Tuesday that the FCC recommended the reinstatement. Telnyx's logo on Tuesday was included among those companies on the ITG website's list of "supporting partners." Telnyx CEO David Casem said, “We have been clear from the beginning that [Telnyx] is a victim of Biden-era regulation by enforcement that violates multiple executive orders from President [Donald] Trump and that we are completely innocent in this matter.” Casem added, “The FCC’s actions facilitating our reinstatement with the ITG are a welcomed first step in the process of clearing our name for good and show the Commission's commitment to righting this wrong. We remain confident that the facts of this case are on our side, and we will not rest until the NAL against us is fully resolved.” The FCC and ITG didn't comment.
Starry executives spoke with staff from the Wireless Bureau and Office of Engineering and Technology on the company’s support for a draft order on the 37 GHz band proposed for a vote at the April 28 FCC meeting (see 2504070054). Starry is making the rounds at the FCC and earlier spoke with an aide to Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2504150044).
Carriers may expect too much in terms of the potential financial benefits of open application programmable interfaces (APIs), said Grant Lenahan, principal analyst at Appledore Research. Open APIs are a growing focus of providers (see 2404160065) and of the GSMA (see 2402260054). Lenahan spoke Wednesday during TelecomTV's Telco at a Platform Summit.
The U.S. trade war and resulting geopolitical tensions are a short-term not a long-term worry, a trio of satellite executives said Wednesday during a panel discussion. They were also bullish about their prospects in the face of competition from SpaceX and, soon, Amazon's Kuiper.
The FCC’s pressure campaign against corporate diversity initiatives lacks a clear basis in the rules and isn’t likely to fare well if it is tested in the courts, said panelists during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday.