TWH Reaffirms Commitment To Sohn’s FCC Nomination

Gigi Sohn

The nation’s telecommunications regulator has been without a Democratic majority for the entirety of President Biden’s 21-month tenure, hamstringing efforts to restore open internet protections and close the digital divide, reports The Washington Post.

Breaking the deadlock at the Federal Communications Commission hinges on confirming Gigi Sohn, a longtime public interest advocate and former Democratic FCC official who was first nominated by the White House nearly a year ago. As the midterm elections approach and Democrats’ ability to retain their narrow control of the Senate remains uncertain, Sohn’s supporters are warning Congress that the clock is ticking to lock in a majority at the agency.

On Friday, about 250 industry and public interest groups wrote a letter to top Senate leaders calling for a vote on Sohn’s nomination before Congress adjourns at the end of the year.

“The FCC needs a full commission as it begins to deliberate on upcoming critical decisions that will have profound impacts on the economy and the American people,” leaders from groups including the Consumer Technology Association, Rural Wireless Association and Color Of Change wrote in a letter shared exclusively with The Washington Post.

The push from Sohn’s supporters follows what her allies describe as an unprecedented effort from some telecommunications and media lobbyists to block her nomination. Biden’s failure to secure a majority or full complement of commissioners at the FCC marks one of the longest delays in recent memory for a first-term president.

The stakes for industry are high: During the Trump administration, the then Republican-led agency advanced a wave of deregulation, reversing Obama-era net neutrality protections and eliminating decades-old rules that preserve media diversity in local markets. With a majority again, Democrats are expected to reverse those moves.

Sohn’s nomination also comes as the federal government is expected to soon invest an unprecedented amount of funding in expanding internet access, following the infrastructure legislation that Congress passed last year. That legislation directed the agency to develop rules to address discrimination in internet access on the basis of income level or race. There are widespread inequities in how broadband is delivered, and new rules under a Democratic FCC could create more costs for major internet service providers.

Since the White House began vetting her for the position in the spring of 2021, Sohn has largely been sidelined from publicly commenting on telecommunications policy. Over the last year, she’s been frequently attacked as a partisan in publications including Fox News, the New York Post and the Wall Street Journal op-ed pages. The process has taken a personal toll, opening Sohn up to threatening phone calls and emails and name-calling. Sohn, who would be the first openly gay FCC commissioner, has also faced attacks on her sexual orientation.