Senate Confirmation of Carr to 5-Year Term Seen Unlikely Soon
The Senate Commerce Committee voted Thursday to again advance FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's renomination to a full five-year term. But lawmakers in both parties acknowledged in later interviews that he's unlikely to get a full Senate vote soon. President Donald Trump nominated Carr last year to consecutive terms, including an abbreviated one expiring in June. The Senate confirmed Carr to only the abbreviated term, under a deal aimed at providing a clear Republican nominee to pair with a potential successor to Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn if she leaves (see 1706290063 and 1708030060). Trump renominated Carr earlier this month to a term ending in 2023, after the Senate sent back all nominations it failed to act on in 2017 (see 1801040058 and 1801080062 and see the personals section of this issue).
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
Senate Commerce voted 14-13 along party lines to move Carr's nomination forward, as it did with NASA Administrator nominee Jim Bridenstine and several others. The committee cleared Carr's full-term nomination in August on a partisan vote (see 1707260052). Senate Commerce voted Thursday to advance Consumer Product Safety Commission nominees Ann Marie Buerkle and Dana Baiocco, and Assistant Secretary of Transportation nominee Diana Furchtgott-Roth. Senate Commerce members didn't focus on Carr's nomination during a pre-vote debate, though committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., broadly noted that “delaying tactics” necessitated the nominees again face the confirmation process.
Senate Republicans are operating on the assumption that Democratic colleagues will allow Carr to move under unanimous consent only when they are able to pair him with a potential successor to Clyburn if she leaves, Thune told reporters. “If and when the time comes” to consider another Democratic nominee to an FCC seat, “I hope we can pair them so that we can do this the way we have traditionally and historically done it,” Thune said. “We want a full complement on the commission.” Clyburn continues to face questions about her plans, with some pegging a possible departure before the end of February (see 1801050041).
Several Senate Democrats told us the plan to ensure Carr is paired with a nominee for Clyburn's seat remains in effect. The pairing issue was a major reason all 13 Senate Commerce Democrats again voted against Carr Thursday, though “a lot of that” was also a reflection of their opposition to commissioners' party-line December vote to rescind 2015 net neutrality rules, said Senate Communications Subcommittee ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii. All 49 Senate Democrats pledged to sponsor a planned Congressional Review Act resolution to undo rescission (see 1801160055). But if Carr is paired on the Senate floor with a Democratic FCC nominee, it's “very likely” that many Democrats will support confirmation for both, Schatz said. Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., also confirmed Senate Democrats want to continue to hold off on Carr's confirmation until they can pair him with a Democratic nominee.
Markey and Schatz demurred on where behind-the-scenes vetting of a potential Clyburn replacement stands, with Schatz saying he hadn't “heard anything” about the situation. “We still don't have a vacancy” in Clyburn's seat, “so when we have a vacancy we can have that whole discussion,” Markey said. Clyburn is unlikely to formally step down “until Trump nominates her replacement” and Senate leaders “reach a deal” to bring the replacement nominee to a floor vote, a telecom lobbyist said. “It's no secret she wants to leave and it's a matter of syncing up her getting a job and having her replacement pretty much ready to go.” It's "a matter of sequencing” the process so it move seamlessly, the telecom lobbyist said: Democrats “don't want to give up that seat unless they know that replacement is going to happen” quickly. Clyburn's office didn't comment.
Carr thanked Senate Commerce for acting. “If reconfirmed, I look forward to continuing” to “advance policies that will create jobs, spur investment, and grow the economy for the benefit of all Americans,” he tweeted. Competitive Carriers Association members “are very focused on streamlining barriers to broadband infrastructure deployment, gaining access to spectrum, and ensuring Universal Service Fund support, and Commissioner Carr is certainly well-versed on each of these important issues,” said President Steve Berry in a statement. Carr “has proven to be an outstanding leader who consistently promotes policies designed to improve America’s broadband networks -- from the responsible deployment of wireless infrastructure to workforce development and training issues,” said Wireless Infrastructure Association President Jonathan Adelstein.