Numerous industry and FCC officials told us Tuesday that FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington is expected to leave the agency or announce an imminent departure this week. Simington and his office didn’t respond to requests for comment. His term expired last year, but he was expected to stay until the end of 2025. The makeup of the agency is already in flux: Current Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said he will leave before the FCC's planned June 26 meeting (see 2505220043, and the confirmation of Republican Olivia Trusty isn’t expected until late June or July (see 2505290053). It's seen as unlikely that Simington would exit before Starks and leave the FCC with a Democratic majority. However, if he departs after Starks but before Trusty’s confirmation, it would leave just two commissioners. The Communications Act requires a quorum of three. An announcement Wednesday from Simington would precede FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s expected announcement of his agenda for the June 26 meeting, lobbyists said.
Senate leaders may still try to hold votes on Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty and NTIA administrator nominee Arielle Roth in late June, shortly before the upper chamber breaks for the week leading up to the July Fourth holiday, but lobbyists now believe both confirmations are more likely to happen in the lead-up to the August recess. Lobbyists told us that Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ pledge last week to resign before the agency's June 26 meeting (see 2505220043) is easing Republicans’ pressure to expedite Trusty’s confirmation because the GOP will gain a majority even without her taking office.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks’ announcement Thursday that he was attending his last commission meeting (see 2505220013) sparked renewed concerns from his supporters on and off Capitol Hill that President Donald Trump will leave his seat vacant instead of naming a party-affiliated successor. The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights led another push just before Starks’ announcement for Senate leaders to delay Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty’s confirmation process until the Trump administration commits to keeping the commission staffed with two members not affiliated with the party of the sitting president.
In Q1 earnings calls this week, TV broadcast executives emphasized their expectations of ownership deregulation, hinted at station deals and discussed a recent proposal by FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington to cap network affiliation fees (see 2505020066). Nexstar CEO Perry Sook said on his company’s call that Simington’s proposal for a 30% cap on fees would likely find “very little traction” in Washington. On Capitol Hill, “there is very little interest in getting involved in the commerce between stations and networks.”
Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Thursday that his “expectation” remains that President Donald Trump will move on minority party nominees to the FCC and other commissions, despite Democrats’ concerns that the administration will choose to leave such seats empty (see 2504010053). Several Senate Commerce Committee Democrats who voted Wednesday to advance Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty said they won’t back her final confirmation unless the Trump administration commits to maintaining Democratic FCC seats, including picking a party-affiliated nominee to succeed retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks (see 2504300047).
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty on a bipartisan vote Wednesday, as expected (see 2504290058), but Democrats made clear they won't allow a smooth confirmation process on the floor unless the Trump administration commits to picking a party-affiliated candidate to replace retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and five other panel Democrats voted for Trusty on Wednesday, even as misgivings about Starks' replacement and the FCC's independence during the Trump administration led seven caucus members to vote against the nominee.
Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty could get more support Wednesday from Senate Commerce Committee Democrats than NTIA administrator pick Arielle Roth drew earlier this month (see 2504090037), but lobbyists told us the likely tally remained in flux Tuesday afternoon. Panel Democrats gave Trusty a warm reception at her April 9 confirmation hearing (see 2504090060), after only one caucus member, Sen. John Fetterman of Pennsylvania, joined all 15 Republicans to advance Roth. Senate Commerce's Wednesday markup session will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said Monday she's “not worried” about the possibility that President Donald Trump may fire her amid concerns it could happen if the Senate confirms Republican commission nominee Olivia Trusty. Senate approval of Trusty would give Republicans an outright majority at the FCC. As such, the commission would have a mandated three-member quorum without Gomez and fellow Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks, who plans to retire this spring (see 2503180067). The Senate Commerce Committee is set to vote Wednesday on advancing Trusty to the full chamber (see 2504230051).
The Senate Commerce Committee said Wednesday night that it will mark up two telecom measures during an April 30 meeting that will also consider Republican FCC nominee Olivia Trusty (see 2504230051). Lawmakers will vote on the Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act (S-259) and Enhancing First Response Act (S-725). The meeting will begin at 10 a.m. in 253 Russell. S-259 and its House companion (HR-906), which was advanced by that chamber's Commerce Committee, would require the FCC to publish a list of communications companies with FCC licenses or other authorizations in which China or other foreign adversaries’ governments hold at least a 10% ownership stake. Congressional leaders included an earlier version of the measure in a scuttled December continuing resolution (see 2412180033). S-725 and the similar 911 Supporting Accurate Views of Emergency Services Act (HR-637) would reclassify public safety call takers and dispatchers as a protective service.
Two top Senate Commerce Committee Democrats are voicing concerns that speculation that President Donald Trump may move to fire FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez (see 2503200057) will scare off potential Democratic candidates to replace retiring Commissioner Geoffrey Starks. Democratic FCC stakeholders began worrying about Gomez’s fate after Trump’s unprecedented March firings of Democratic FTC Commissioners Alvaro Bedoya and Rebecca Kelly Slaughter (see 2503190057). Legal experts said during a Broadband Breakfast webinar Wednesday that the U.S. Supreme Court appears likely to overturn Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 1935 decision stopping the president from firing FTC commissioners without cause, which has implications for the FCC and other independent agencies.