Senate Panel Sets New Hearing Date For FCC Nominee

FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn

A U.S. Senate committee on Tuesday set a third confirmation hearing on Feb 14 for the Biden administration's nominee to a seat on the Federal Communications Commission that has been vacant for more than two years, reports Reuters.

President Joe Biden last month renominated Gigi Sohn, a former FCC senior official under President Barack Obama, to serve as a commissioner. Biden first nominated Sohn in October 2021 but she was not confirmed despite hearings in 2021 and 2022.

Democrats since January 2021 have been unable to command a majority of the five-member FCC, the telecommunications regulator, stalling Democrats' efforts to reinstate landmark net neutrality rules revoked under Republican former President Donald Trump.

In July 2021, President Joe Biden signed an executive order encouraging the FCC to reinstate the rules.

Republicans have questioned Sohn's role as a board member of a nonprofit that operated a transmission service called Locast. It was ordered shut down after four broadcast networks filed a copyright infringement lawsuit.

If confirmed, Sohn has voluntarily agreed to recuse herself on some matters involving retransmission consent and TV broadcast copyright.

Meanwhile, the nation's top group representing sheriffs urged top Democratic and Republican lawmakers to oppose President Biden's beleaguered nominee for the FCC, reports Fox News Digital.

"The National Sheriffs' Association (NSA) opposes the nomination of Gigi Sohn to serve as a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)," the two NSA officials wrote in the letter to Commerce Committee Chairwoman Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and Ranking Member Ted Cruz, R-Texas. 

"Law enforcement officers across the country risk their lives every day to protect and serve our communities," they continued. "They deserve the support of senior officials in the federal government who help to set policy. Unfortunately, Ms. Sohn has failed to provide such support by using social media to promote alarming statements that denigrate law enforcement."