Republicans Get Last-Minute Jitters on NTIA Pick Davidson

"I think we're going to be fine" on getting Davidson to the floor, Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us. Aides to some Commerce Democrats expect Davidson to advance out of committee with unanimous Democratic support and votes from several Republicans. Unanimous GOP support is unlikely, lobbyists said. NTIA referred us to the White House. Davidson, the White House and Senate Commerce didn’t comment Tuesday.

The number of Republicans who back Davidson Wednesday will be a good indicator of whether Democratic leaders can confirm him as part of an end-of-year package via unanimous consent, or if the chamber must go through a cloture vote, lobbyists said. Some aides believe the Senate won't be able to confirm Davidson by UC anyway because Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., has holds on all Commerce Department nominees until Senate Commerce holds an oversight hearing with Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo about the Biden administration’s plans to solve the current supply chain crisis (see 2111180081). Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., threatened Tuesday to keep the chamber in session through this weekend and into next week to move on the backlog of President Joe Biden’s nominees.

A quick confirmation is needed because Davidson’s “got a big responsibility on behalf” of Biden and the rest of the administration to “connect every house across America … to the internet” via the $48 billion in connectivity money NTIA is tasked with distributing from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, said Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., in an interview.

Senate Communications ranking member John Thune, R-S.D., told us he’s concerned about some of Davidson’s responses to Republicans’ follow-up questions. Thune cited queries he and others made about whether NTIA would require companies receiving $42.5 billion from IIJA via the agency’s state-based broadband grants program to follow net neutrality requirements. Thune and Senate Commerce ranking member Roger Wicker, R-Miss., cited the Agriculture Department’s decision to factor a company’s commitment to net neutrality into decisions on whether to award an applicant ReConnect money (see 2111080063) as a potential model for a similar NTIA requirement. Sen. Mike Lee, R-Utah, also pressed Davidson on the issue.

Davidson said his “top priority is bridging the digital divide and connecting all Americans.” Since he’s not yet at NTIA, he hasn’t “had the benefit of the NTIA staff’s thinking on how” the state grants program “should be structured, and what obligations, if any, should apply to” recipients. “If confirmed, my main focus will be getting affordable, high-speed, and reliable broadband service to all Americans as quickly and carefully as possible,” Davidson said. He told Republicans IIJA “does not allow NTIA to engage in rate regulation” and “history has shown us that rate regulation is not the most effective policy for ensuring affordable services.”

Davidson’s lack of a clear answer “is concerning to me,” Thune told us: He interprets it as Davidson viewing a net neutrality requirement as “something he could see them doing.” Thune also noted concerns about Davidson’s response to other questions, including on whether he’d ensure NTIA treats union and non-union workers equally in its review of broadband grant applications. Davidson said he plans to “review all applications fairly based on what is permitted under law. I look forward to working with the staff at NTIA to better understand NTIA’s role and obligations in reviewing applications for broadband grants.”

“I was inclined” to back Davidson before the nominee responded because Senate Commerce members were generally supportive of Davidson during the confirmation hearing, but the answers are “concerning enough that I’m going to give some thought” about whether to vote for him Wednesday, Thune said. Other Republicans are also likely to have concerns because “if you’re talking about requiring or stipulating that to qualify” for NTIA broadband funding an applicant must follow net neutrality guidelines, “that’s problematic. That’s an issue that could have some resonance.”

Some other Republicans also were noncommittal on Davidson Tuesday. “I haven’t fully decided,” said Sen. Roy Blunt of Missouri. “We’re still working” through Davidson’s nomination materials, including his responses to follow-up questions, said Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. Blackburn pressed Davidson on his position on interagency spectrum policy collaboration and FAA voicing concerns about flights being diverted or grounded because of 5G C-band wireless broadband signals (see 2112070047). “The ongoing C-band situation is a prime example of how interagency spectrum coordination has become less effective than it needs to be in recent years, with real-world consequences for spectrum users,” Davidson said.

Wicker favored Davidson Tuesday. "We think he's got a lot of plusses" and "good things to be said for him," Wicker told us. "I certainly want to hear" from Thune about his concerns with the nominee. Sen. Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., plans to back Davidson. “He’ll be effective, and I want to have a good relationship with him” since improving broadband connectivity is “one of my biggest issues,” she said. “He answered” Senate Commerce members’ questions during the hearing “very well, and I also had a personal meeting with him” that underscored his qualifications.