The House on Thursday narrowly passed the Senate-cleared version of the HR-1 budget reconciliation package, previously known as the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (see 2507010070). Passage came after a marathon all-night session, during which most Republicans who had previously resisted backing the measure ultimately voted for it amid pressure and cajoling from GOP leadership and President Donald Trump. The lower chamber approved HR-1 218-214, with only two Republicans joining all 212 Democrats in opposition.
FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez on Wednesday called for the FCC to investigate how criminals are using spectrum jammers in burglaries, saying she has discussed the issue with Chairman Brendan Carr. The commission's lone Democrat, Gomez appeared on a webcast interview with Fiber Broadband Association CEO Gary Bolton.
Changes at the FCC: Chairman Brendan Carr names Eduard Bartholme, Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau, and Jonathan McCormack, Broadband Data Task Force, co-chairs of the Broadband Data Task Force, replacing Jean Kiddoo, retiring; Hillary DeNigro, Media Bureau, tapped as chair of the Incentive Auction Task Force, also replacing Kiddoo; Jill Coogan, Public Safety Bureau, retires; Patricia Goff, Office of Engineering and Technology, retires; Commissioner Olivia Trusty appoints Krista Senell, Office of Engineering and Technology, as her chief of staff/senior counsel; William Holloway, Broadband Data Task Force, and Jessica Kinsey, Enforcement Bureau, as acting legal advisers; and Andi Roane, office of former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, as acting confidential assistant ... National Emergency Number Association board elects: Lee Ann Magoski, Monterey County (California) Emergency Communications Department (president); Roxanne Van Gundy, Lyon County (Kansas) Emergency Communications Center (first vice president); Cassie Lowery, Rutherford County (Tennessee) Emergency Communications District (second vice president); Melanie Jones, Guilford (North Carolina) Metro 911 (immediate past president); Mark Fletcher, RapidSOS; Leah Hornacek, Aurelian; Stephanie Johnson, Ada County (Idaho) Sheriff’s Office; Holly Barkwell, Barkwell Holland Group; and Karin Marquez, RapidSOS … Nokia Chief Legal Officer Esa Niinimaki will serve as interim chief people officer, replacing Lorna Gibb, leaving to pursue another opportunity; recruitment has begun for Gibbs' successor ... CTIA adds Vijesh Mehta, EZ Texting, to its board.
As the FCC commissioners voted up a trio of regulatory items Thursday, Chairman Brendan Carr was predicting "a very, very busy" July and August, with a greater focus on accelerating infrastructure buildouts and freeing up spectrum. Approved at the agency's June meeting were orders streamlining cable TV rate regulation and axing the professional engineer certification requirement for the biannual broadband data collection filings, as well as an NPRM proposing to end the requirement that telecommunications relay services providers support the now-obsolete ASCII transmission format. Thursday's meeting was the first for Republican Commissioner Olivia Trusty, who was sworn in Monday (see 2506230057). With Carr now having a two-person Republican majority, agency watchers anticipate that it will ramp up more substantive work aligned with his agenda (see 2506200052).
Republican Olivia Trusty took office Monday as an FCC commissioner, as expected (see 2506200052). Cooley’s Robert McDowell, a former Republican commissioner, confirmed Trusty’s swearing-in on X. “Great to be at the [FCC] to see Olivia Trusty be sworn in as America’s newest Commissioner,” McDowell said. Republicans now have a majority at the agency, a shift that some see as portending quick action on items that Chairman Brendan Carr couldn’t advance with a tie. The Senate confirmed Trusty last week to two consecutive terms (see 2506180076). The FCC didn’t immediately comment.
The FCC Media Bureau’s move to seek comment on relaxing national broadcast ownership limits just a day after the confirmation of incoming Commissioner Olivia Trusty is an indication that the agency will act quickly to enact Chairman Brendan Carr’s agenda now that he has a majority, industry officials told us. That agenda likely “picks up some pace” in the next couple of months as Carr can move on items he couldn’t advance with a 2-2 FCC, said former Commissioner Mike O’Rielly. The FCC is likely to swear in Trusty as a commissioner on Monday or Tuesday, a former Republican FCC aide told us.
Industry officials expect Chairman Brendan Carr to circulate an NPRM Wednesday evening on relaxing the national broadcast ownership cap, they told us after Breitbart reported on the proposal. Carr has repeatedly said he believes the FCC has the authority to change the cap, and he wants to empower local broadcasters to reduce the power imbalance between station owners and national networks (see Ref:2505160064]). The current rules limit a single company from owning stations that reach more than 39% of U.S. TV households. With Wednesday’s confirmation of incoming FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty, Carr is seen as having the votes to relax the rules. Opponents of broadcast deregulation have said the FCC doesn’t have the authority to alter the ownership limit, and any FCC action to change it is certain to draw a legal challenge.
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr and Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez were among many communications policymakers and stakeholders who congratulated Republican Commissioner-designate Olivia Trusty on Tuesday night and Wednesday. The Senate voted 53-45 Wednesday to confirm Trusty to a five-year term that begins July 1 (see 2506180076). It cleared her Tuesday to finish the term of former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, which ends June 30 (see 2506170072).
Republican Olivia Trusty’s confirmation Wednesday to a full five-year FCC term cements an incoming GOP majority at the commission, but there's still substantial uncertainty about whether President Donald Trump will pick nominees to succeed ex-Commissioners Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks, former officials and other observers told us. The Senate voted 53-45 Wednesday to confirm Trusty, as expected (see 2506170072). Senators also cleared her Tuesday to finish former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel's term, which ends June 30.
The Senate voted 53-45 Wednesday to confirm Republican Commissioner-designate Olivia Trusty to a full, five-year term that begins July 1, as expected. The chamber already confirmed her Tuesday to finish the term of former Democratic Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, which ends June 30. Once sworn in, Trusty will shift the FCC to a 2-1 Republican majority and restore the commission's quorum.