Senate Commerce Looking at July 19 Confirmations Hearing
The Senate Commerce Committee penciled in July 19 as a “possible” date for a nominee confirmation hearing but hasn't targeted it yet for evaluating FCC Democratic commissioner nominee Jessica Rosenworcel or any other nominees, a committee aide told us Tuesday.…
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An industry lobbyist pointed to chatter about the circulating hearing date as sign Senate Commerce is anticipating that President Donald Trump will soon announce a nominee for the vacant GOP FCC commissioner seat, as many in the communications sector hope given the assumption that a GOP nominee will need to be paired with Rosenworcel for either nominee to advance (see 1706190079). Trump nominated Rosenworcel last week and FCC General Counsel Brendan Carr is seen as the front-runner for the remaining vacancy (see 1706140065). It's possible Senate Commerce may try also to handle Trump's anticipated renomination of FCC Chairman Ajit Pai as part of the July 19 hearing, noted the industry lobbyist. The committee is unlikely to include him unless also handling a nominee for the vacant GOP seat given that a Pai-Rosenworcel confirmation pairing would result in a 2-2 FCC, the lobbyist said.