Elevating Ajit Pai to chairman, as expected (see 1701200051), means the FCC can proceed directly into its new agenda under President Donald Trump, without complications of an interim chairmanship and a long waiting period for a new chairman to arrive. Pai’s positions are already well known -- he has been a commissioner since May 2012, a nearly five-year track record -- so there's relatively little uncertainty on where he stands on many issues. Before he was a commissioner, Pai worked for the FCC Office of General Counsel.
Elevating Ajit Pai to chairman, as expected (see 1701200051), means the FCC can proceed directly into its new agenda under President Donald Trump, without complications of an interim chairmanship and a long waiting period for a new chairman to arrive. Pai’s positions are already well known -- he has been a commissioner since May 2012, a nearly five-year track record -- so there's relatively little uncertainty on where he stands on many issues. Before he was a commissioner, Pai worked for the FCC Office of General Counsel.
White House Chief of Staff Reince Priebus on Jan. 20 directed the heads of all executive branch departments and agencies to temporarily postpone until March 21 the effective dates of regulations published in the Federal Register that haven’t taken effect. The Trump administration will review “questions of fact, law, and policy” the regulations raise, Priebus said in the memo (here). The directive also instructs agencies to consider proposing for notice and comment rules to delay the effective date even longer “where appropriate and as permitted by applicable law,” with no further action needed for unsubstantial rulemakings and notification of the Office of Management and Budget for regulations that present substantial law or policy questions.
The District of Columbia’s test of the wireless emergency alerts (WEA) system increased confidence in the critical communications system, said D.C. and industry officials last week. On the Sunday afternoon prior to Friday’s inauguration of President Donald Trump, the D.C. Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency (DCHSEMA) tested the WEA message system and city official email list portion of the federal Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS). The FCC Public Safety Bureau gave DC HSEMA a waiver to do the test, which included cooperation from various federal agencies including the Secret Service (see 1701130066). Everbridge, a cloud-based communications software vendor that got a contract with the National Capitol Region in 2014, provided technical support during the test and in the District’s emergency operations center during Friday’s inauguration.
Industry lobbyists and officials told us Friday that Commissioner Ajit Pai, the FCC's senior Republican, is being tapped to lead the agency as chairman on a permanent basis. Spokespeople for President Donald Trump didn’t confirm the reports. The FCC was reduced to three commissioners Friday, as expected, with Tom Wheeler stepping down as chairman and no longer listed on the FCC website among commissioners. Pai has been seen as nearly certain to become chairman on at least an interim basis, and personally met with Trump in New York City less than a week before Friday's inauguration.
Industry lobbyists and officials told us Friday that Commissioner Ajit Pai, the FCC's senior Republican, is being tapped to lead the agency as chairman on a permanent basis. Spokespeople for President Donald Trump didn’t confirm the reports. The FCC was reduced to three commissioners Friday, as expected, with Tom Wheeler stepping down as chairman and no longer listed on the FCC website among commissioners. Pai has been seen as nearly certain to become chairman on at least an interim basis, and personally met with Trump in New York City less than a week before Friday's inauguration.
President Barack Obama took executive actions on Jan. 13 to continue the national emergency status for Cuba (here), Iran (here), Libya (here), Ukraine (here), Venezuela (here) and Zimbabwe (here) under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act. The Cuba proclamation also extended the emergency authority restricting movements of U.S. vessels into Cuban territorial waters.
The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump named five more individuals to the FTC landing team, most of whom have expertise in antitrust, competition and other financial issues. Several observers told us Tuesday they think the commission under the incoming administration will take a more harms-based approach. Meanwhile, former FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright met with Trump over the weekend in New York, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. Spicer didn't specify the substance of the discussion and Wright declined to comment.
The National Emergency Number Association and others urged an end to 911 fee diversion, after the FCC released another report showing several states using 911 fees from phone bills for things not directly related to 911. Eight states and Puerto Rico together diverted nearly $220.3 million, or about 8.4 percent of total fees collected by 49 states and four territories reporting in 2015, the commission said in an annual report to Congress released Friday (see 1701130065). Some state lawmakers want to close the spigot through legislation this session; state executives defended the practice.
The transition team for President-elect Donald Trump named five more individuals to the FTC landing team, most of whom have expertise in antitrust, competition and other financial issues. Several observers told us Tuesday they think the commission under the incoming administration will take a more harms-based approach. Meanwhile, former FTC Commissioner Joshua Wright met with Trump over the weekend in New York, spokesman Sean Spicer told reporters on a conference call Tuesday. Spicer didn't specify the substance of the discussion and Wright declined to comment.