Cantwell Eyes June Hearing on FCC Nominees; Thune Sees 'Easier Path' for Gomez

Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell of Washington and other Democrats agree with the Biden administration’s push for simultaneous action on Carr, Gomez and Starks in hopes that will ensure all three candidates’ swift confirmation. Senate Commerce will “probably” look to move the FCC nominees together if possible and will hold a joint confirmation hearing with them, Cantwell told us: She particularly looks “forward to hearing” Gomez’s views on important communications policy issues since the nominee would be a new addition to the FCC and her confirmation would give Democrats the 3-2 majority that’s been elusive since Biden took office in January 2021.

Cantwell told us she strongly favors a June confirmation hearing but cautioned “we don’t even have the paperwork yet” on Carr, Gomez or Starks, a prerequisite to Senate Commerce action on nominees. Biden formally sent the Senate all three nominations Tuesday (see 2305310055), just over a week after announcing the picks. Observers believe a Senate Commerce hearing on the FCC nominees could happen the week of June 12, with June 14 the most likely date during that period.

Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman Ben Ray Lujan, D-N.M., likewise wants swift committee action on the nominees. “The sooner the better,” he said. The Senate repeatedly stalled ex-nominee Gigi Sohn’s confirmation process for more than a year before she withdrew in March (see 2303070082). Gomez appears to “have broad support and there should be a vote” soon on her, Carr and Starks, Lujan said.

Senate Republicans aren’t necessarily on board with confirming Gomez, but Communications ranking member John Thune of South Dakota and others aren’t raising red flags on her like they did soon after Biden nominated Sohn in October 2021 (see Ref:2111170071]). Gomez “is somebody that will have a much easier path than” Sohn ever did, Thune told us: “I haven’t studied her background enough to have a hard opinion yet, but folks whose opinions I respect are favorable” toward her.

Thune is unsure whether there will be a GOP appetite to allow all three nominees to move as a package as Democrats want. “There’s always been a one-for-one deal and they’ve got Starks up first” since his term technically ended June 30, 2022, and he will have to leave the FCC by Jan. 3 without reapproval. “He’s on his grace period” now and “Carr is up” next, so they're a natural pairing as they were when the Senate confirmed them in early 2019 (see 1901030042), Thune said. Carr’s term ends June 30, and he will have to leave the commission by Jan. 3, 2025, without reconfirmation.

“I will closely examine whether” Gomez “has the necessary experience, judgment, and policy views to serve” on the FCC, Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, said in a statement. “Commissioners should have outstanding qualifications and be committed to serving as even-handed and truly independent regulators, not as partisan activists.”

Incompas, NTCA and four other tech groups urged Cantwell and Cruz Thursday to “move expeditiously” on all three FCC nominees. “Given the upcoming expiration of the sitting Commissioners’ terms, and the importance of filling the fifth Commissioner slot that has remained vacant for far too long, we encourage the Committee to hold a joint hearing for the three nominees as quickly as possible and to advance their nomination,” Incompas CEO Chip Pickering and the other groups’ leaders said in a letter to Cantwell and Cruz. Carr and Starks “are proven leaders and dedicated public servants who warrant swift reconfirmations,” and Gomez “has extensive experience in technology and telecommunications policy and a long record of seeking bipartisan solutions. She is widely respected for her work in the industry, including when she previously served in positions at the FCC and NTIA, and she possesses the experience, wisdom, and leadership required to make an excellent FCC Commissioner.”

U.S. Delegation Leadership

Questions remain about whether Gomez should remain head of the U.S.’ WRC delegation even if the Senate doesn’t confirm her to the FCC before the conference starts (see 2305120050). Former NTIA Administrator Larry Strickling is among the people whose names are circulating as potential candidates to replace Gomez. Others include Umair Javed, longtime adviser to FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, and Deputy Assistant Secretary of State-International Information and Communications Policy Steve Lang.

Gomez faces a growing workload, with many bilateral and other meetings looming that require overseas travel, including the late August Inter-American Telecommunications Commission (CITEL) meeting in Ottawa, Canada, observers said. Being U.S. delegation head also means Gomez may have to take controversial positions, which could complicate a smooth confirmation process, they said. Being an ambassador “requires a ton of work, and I wonder how [Gomez] can do both, especially given the timing of the WRC in November, and some critical votes at the FCC,” including in the digital discrimination proceeding (see 2302220045), said TechFreedom General Counsel Jim Dunstan.

House Communications Subcommittee ranking member Doris Matsui, D-Calif., is among those who think Gomez's decision on whether to remain delegation head won't affect U.S. interests at WRC. Gomez’s “background is perfect to be an FCC commissioner,” including her WRC role, Matsui told us: “We’re going to be fine” regardless of what Gomez decides to do because she’s had several months already to guide U.S. preparations for the conference “and she’s got good staff” who have been aiding that work.

“Over the decades, plenty of people have held down full-time jobs while they go through the nomination and confirmation process for other jobs,” emailed Cooley’s Robert McDowell, a former FCC commissioner. Observers noted there’s already precedent for a last-minute switch in U.S. WRC delegation leadership. Brian Fontes, then an executive at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association and a former aide to FCC Commissioner James Quello, stepped into the role of ambassador shortly before the start of the 1995 WRC after doctors told designated delegation lead and ex-Rep. Mike Synar, D-Okla., he had brain cancer. Synar died the next year.

Other government agencies might be uncomfortable with Gomez being ambassador to the WRC once she becomes a commissioner, said lawyers engaged with the WRC. The worry is that if Gomez must make calls between the interests of the FCC versus other agencies, she might find it difficult to be neutral, they said. “There is nothing in what [Gomez] is doing now that creates any kind of conflict with her future work as a commissioner,” which is not true of some other nominees, said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. It’s also “clear that trying to do a job as big as head of delegation and being a commissioner is not feasible.”