Spectrum Policy Infighting at Issue in Search for New NTIA Head
President Donald Trump's administration appears to be slow-walking work to nominate a permanent NTIA administrator nearly three months after David Redl's abrupt departure from the agency (see 1905090051), lawmakers and lobbyists told us. Several telecom-focused Hill Republicans said they're pessimistic about confirming a nominee any time soon, with some admitting they haven't even recommended potential candidates to the White House. Lobbyists also were pessimistic on the chances for a confirmation before the 2020 presidential election, pointing to publicly aired views of spectrum policy confusion within the Trump administration (see 1907310033). Deputy Administrator Diane Rinaldo is acting administrator.
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The NTIA vacancy comes as key communications policy advisers are leaving the Trump administration. Gail Slater left the White House National Economic Council in April for Fox (see 1904250058). Kelsey Guyselman left the Office of Science and Technology Policy last week for the Information Technology Industry Council (see 1908080052). More departures are expected, with Kevin O’Scannlain expected to soon also leave the NEC, industry officials said.
“It sounds at this point like the trail is not that hot” in the search for a permanent NTIA administrator, said Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D. “Hopefully they'll get someone in there, because that's an important position.” Thune was among those who hasn't made recommendations to the White House. He “hated to lose Redl” at NTIA because "[I] thought he was really, really good” despite policy clashes with other Trump administration officials. The White House didn't comment.
“I haven't talked to the White House” about a potential replacement for Redl, though “I'd like to see us fill a number of vacancies,” said Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss. He and committee ranking member Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., are giving the Commerce Department and the FCC a temporary reprieve so the two agencies can settle their quarrel over U.S. spectrum strategy before the lawmakers follow through on plans for a hearing on the issue. Discussion about the fracas dominated a July House Communications Subcommittee on spectrum policy (see 1907160067). Wicker is among those who have pushed for an end to the squabble (see 1907180044).
House Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore., also hasn't recommended a replacement for Redl. “I don't know who they're going to nominate” as NTIA administrator, “but if I were that person, I would want to know who's really running the show” on spectrum and other policy matters under NTIA's jurisdiction, he said. The Trump administration is going to have trouble “recruiting top talent” for the role “because there's a question whether” the NTIA “or somebody else [is] running the show.” That's “what happens when you have confused lines of authority” on policy matters, Walden said. The process is going to get more “complicated” moving forward since the realistic timeline for the Senate to confirm Trump administration nominees will continue to narrow before the 2020 election, he said.
Tensions within Commerce “will need to be resolved” before the Trump administration is going to have a realistic chance of finding a candidate willing to go through the Senate confirmation process, one lobbyist said. Several cited questions about the status of Commerce Deputy Chief of Staff and Policy Director Earl Comstock as an issue, along with the Commerce-FCC disputes over the potential effects of commercial use of spectrum on the 24 GHz band sold in the recent FCC auction on weather forecasting technology (see 1907150020). The nominee will want certainty about NTIA's authority for that person's own piece of mind and so it doesn't become the central focus of an eventual Senate Commerce confirmation hearing, lobbyists and officials said.
“This is a crucial time to have spectrum policy leadership within the executive branch,” said Cooley's Robert McDowell, a former FCC commissioner: “This is especially true after [Redl's] sudden departure and other Commerce Department turmoil as well as White House personnel turnover.” Charles Cooper took over in July as head of NTIA’s Office of Spectrum Management (see 1906070021). Rinaldo earlier recused herself from spectrum deployment issues because her husband works as a lobbyist for T-Mobile.
The FCC can “fill some of the leadership vacuum with its full complement of commissioners, but it is an independent agency and cannot coordinate federal spectrum users,” McDowell told us: “Having a nominee for NTIA administrator would be extremely helpful right now, but the prospects of confirmation before year-end are slim. While the executive branch is in a pickle, this is a great opportunity for the FCC to shine.”
“It’s hugely important that we have leadership on spectrum issues, especially in the lead-up to the [World Radiocommunication Conference] and considering the infighting over 24 GHz,” said Information Technology and Innovation Foundation Director-Broadband and Spectrum Policy Doug Brake. “Despite the clamoring over the need for mid-band spectrum, the U.S. and trusted partners are well ahead of other nations when it comes to the use of [high-band] spectrum for mobile broadband. It would be a shame to see that leadership ceded at the WRC.” Brake said “as a practical reality,” it’s hard to see a new administrator being nominated soon. “As [Trump] has noted, he ‘likes acting’ and it seems there are other, more prominent positions that also deserve to be filled,” he said: “The closer we get to the election, the more difficult it becomes.”
Last fall, “U.S. spectrum policy seemed to be in great shape,” said R Street Tech Policy Manager Tom Struble. “Everyone at the FCC, the White House, and NTIA were on the same page, touting the forthcoming benefits of 5G and doing everything possible to ensure that American companies and consumers would be the first to realize those benefits." Then came the fight between the FCC and other agencies on the 24 GHz band, questions from the Transportation Department on 5.9 GHz and from the Education Department on 2.5 GHz, and the “abrupt” resignation of Redl, Struble said.
“This is all very unfortunate for those, like me, who care about U.S. spectrum policy,” Struble said: “Can the administration improve the situation now? I'm not sure. The confirmation process for Redl was long and contentious.” Confirming another candidate might not be as difficult, “but it would still likely take several weeks or months,” he said. “By that time, the WRC-19 will already be underway and the 2020 election will be looming, so it's unclear whether a new assistant secretary would have any time to implement a new spectrum agenda. So, even if spectrum policy were still the top issue for the Trump administration, they would struggle to get that done in time for it to have a real impact.”