As we reported previously, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr will become the next Chairman of the FCC. The current Chair, Jessical Rosenworcel, issued a press release announcing her intention to leave the FCC on January 20.
“I am proud to have served at the FCC alongside some of the hardest working and dedicated public servants I have ever known. Together, we accomplished seemingly impossible feats like setting up the largest broadband affordability program in history—which led to us connecting more than 23 million households to high-speed internet, connecting more than 17 million students caught in the homework gap to hotspots and other devices as learning moved online, putting national security and public safety matters with communications front and center before the agency, and launching g the first-ever Space Bureau to support United States leadership in the new Space Age.”
As we reported earlier, Rosenworcel’s departure will leave the FCC with two Democrats and two Republicans. Because of the split, it is unlikely that major Republican deregulation will happen until a third Republican commissioner is confirmed.
A change in administration may yield different priorities. TV Newscheck reported in an article in Policy Band which stated:
"A lot of people have focused on the fact that broadcasters have these licenses, and up to now, everyone has treated them like they're some sort of sacred cows. The reality is a broadcast license is not a sacred cow. You have an obligation to operate in the public interest," said Republican Brendan Carr, whom Trump designated as Chairman on Nov. 17. He continued, “The FCC hasn't really taken any action on that front in a very long time, but I think we need to reinvigorate that. I think that'd be a good thing.”
In this regard, the future Chairman noted that complaints against CBS’s reporting of then presidential nominee Kamala Harris’s interview may be an issue in the context of the sale of Paramount Global to Skydance.
We will keep watch on any new policy developments as well as new potential Republican nominees for the final FCC slot.
You can see Chairwoman Rosenworcel’s press release here.
You can see Commissioner Carr’s comments as reported by TV Newscheck in Policyband here.