Pressure appears to now be off President Barack Obama to...
Pressure appears to now be off President Barack Obama to appoint the first woman as chair of the FCC after Chairman Julius Genachowski leaves the agency. Obama on Monday nominated two more women to prominent positions -- Gina McCarthy as…
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administrator of the EPA and Sylvia Mathews Burwell to head the Office of Management and Budget, both cabinet-level appointments. Last week Obama designated Edith Ramirez as chair of the FTC. Numerous industry officials told us in recent days former CTIA President Tom Wheeler has emerged as the consensus front runner for chairman, with Karen Kornbluh, ambassador to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, the likely choice if Wheeler’s nomination falters. NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling still remains in the mix, officials said. A top communications lawyer said Wheeler does seem to be the likely choice. “I think there’s some legitimate feel [to the rumor] but sort of with the grain of salt it could just be head fakes,” the lawyer said. “I think there’s a lot less pressure now because [Obama] has appointed more women, there’s no question about that,” said another industry lawyer. Wheeler is the former president of NCTA and CTIA and current chairman of the FCC Technological Advisory Council. He became managing director of Core Capital Partners, a venture capital firm, after leaving the FCC advisory group and is widely considered to be close to Genachowski. “Where, as here, the process is very secretive, there is a tendency to overdo the psychoanalysis,” said communications lawyer Andrew Schwartzman. “Sure, having made a number of female appointments, there may be less pressure to appoint a woman to the FCC. But there are much more important considerations at play, so that may not mean too much.”