FCC: Eyes Turn To Wheeler’s Confirmation Process

White House photo

When President Obama officially nominated Tom Wheeler to be the next FCC chairman Wednesday, he said that he wanted to “thank the Senate now for what I am sure will be a speedy confirmation process,” according to a story by Ted Johnson at Variety.

The president’s comment at a White House ceremony was a quip, a testament to the now unpredictable nature of a process that at times felt like a rubber stamp.

With praise for Wheeler coming from industry, former colleagues, some public interest advocates and the current FCC chairman, Julius Genachowski, there is as of now little doubt that he will be confirmed, particularly if his nomination is paired with an as-yet-nominated  Republican for the FCC other vacancy.

ICYMI:  Blog sez Wheeler critical of broadcasting. Click Here.

But Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-W. Va.), the chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, which will conduct the confirmation hearing, pushed for his former aide Jessica Rosenworcel, now an FCC commission, to get the spot.

Wheeler undoubtedly will be pressed on everything from the FCC’s implementation to voluntary incentive auctions, to net neutrality, to broadcast indecency. Genachowski has had little appetite to tackle objectionable content on the airwaves, but left for his successor a proposal to deal only with “egregious cases,” something that is sure to be broached at confirmation hearings among lawmakers who still see a role for the agency in policing the airwaves.

Wheeler also has an entire career behind him, something that Obama cited as an asset. Calling him the “Jim Brown of telecom,” Obama said, “If anybody is wondering about Tom’s qualifications, Tom is the only member of both the cable television and wireless industry hall of fame.”

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