FCC Commissioner Starks to Resign ‘This Spring’
With Starks leaving, Carr could have a majority sooner than he expected.
Jericho Casper
WASHINGTON, March 18, 2025 – Democrat Geoffrey Starks, a Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission since 2019, issued a statement Tuesday saying he will step down from his position this spring.
“Today I sent a letter to the President and Leader [Sen. Charles] Schumer, D-N.Y., indicating that I intend to resign my seat as an [FCC] Commissioner this spring,” Starks said, in a statement posted to the FCC’s homepage. “Serving the American people as a Commissioner has been the honor of my life.”
Speculation regarding Starks' resignation surfaced in December, when reports emerged that then-Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was pressuring him to remain at the agency as long as possible, to delay Republicans from gaining control and advancing their agenda.
His departure would shift the FCC’s current 2-2 partisan deadlock to a 2-1 Republican majority unless the Senate confirms President Donald Trump’s FCC nominee, Olivia Trusty, before Starks steps down. The exact timing of his departure remains unclear.
Still, Trusty’s pending confirmation hasn’t stalled FCC Chairman Brendan Carr from implementing his deregulatory agenda.
Under 47 U.S. Code § 154, which outlines the FCC’s structure and operations, vacancies do not prevent the agency from exercising its full powers. “No vacancy in the [FCC] shall impair the right of the remaining commissioners to exercise all the powers of the commission,” the statute states.
Historical precedent suggests Carr can move forward effectively even without a full commission.
New Street Research policy analyst Blair Levin argued that “most of what Carr wants to do he can do without [an FCC] majority,” in a December policy note.
Levin said that is “partly due to [Carr] defining the job differently than past chairs, emphasizing the power of the bully pulpit to cause Congress and others to act more than relying on formal FCC decisions.”
According to Levin, Carr does not need a majority or full commission to advance key elements of his agenda, including: challenging content moderation policies (what Carr calls the “censorship cartel”); imposing a newly defined public interest standard on television broadcasters; and, weighing in on the interpretation of Section 230.
It remains unclear whether Republicans will uphold the long-standing practice of nominating a Democratic commissioner alongside their own pick.
Carr was quick to express his “sincere thanks and appreciation” to Starks, in a press release, saying Starks “has had a tremendous run in public service”.
“From senior leadership roles at the Department of Justice and in the [FCC’s] own Enforcement Bureau to serving as the Senior Democrat on the [FCC], the American people have benefited greatly from Commissioner Starks’ public service,” Carr said of his long-time colleague.
Starks’ fellow Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez said: “I want to thank Commissioner Starks for his dedicated service to our country and his invaluable contributions to the FCC. His expertise on national security issues and his deep understanding of the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau have been instrumental in advancing the agency’s mission.”
Starks’ statement concluded by reflecting on his time at the FCC: “I have learned so much from my time in this position, particularly when I have heard directly from Americans on the issues that matter to them. I have been inspired by the passion, engagement and commitment I have seen from colleagues, advocates, and industry. Over the next few weeks, I look forward to working with the Chairman and my fellow Commissioners, and all FCC staff, to further the mission of the agency.”
