MAGA Activist Gavin Wax Lands Senior Role at FCC

WASHINGTON, April 21, 2025 – A prominent operative in the MAGA movement will now help steer U.S. communications policy: Gavin Wax has been appointed chief of staff to Federal Communications Commissioner Nathan Simington.

The 31-year-old former day trader and longtime Trump loyalist gained attention as president of the New York Young Republican Club, which he transformed from a 30 member social club in 2019 into a political force boasting over 1,800 members in 2024.

During his six-year tenure, the group hosted a range of controversial figures, including Peter and Lydia Brimelow of the white nationalist website VDARE, conspiracy theorist Jack Posobiec, and far-right European political operatives affiliated with Austria’s Freedom Party and Germany’s Alternative für Deutschland. 

The group also welcomed Steve Bannon, Donald Trump Jr., and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene as featured speakers at its galas. Mother Jones and the Southern Poverty Law Center have documented the club’s ideological shift and its increasingly nationalist tone under Wax’s leadership.

As chief of staff, Wax will serve as Simington’s top aide – shaping the office’s policy direction, coordinating communications, and acting as a liaison to both internal staff and outside stakeholders.

Wax replaces Adam Cassady, who left the FCC on March 20 to take on the role as Acting Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Communications and Information.

The hire marks a sharp turn for Simington, so-far a relatively quiet figure on the commission. Wax has already signaled a more aggressive posture toward perceived media bias, mirroring FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s combative approach.

“Those responsible for destroying our once-great country will be held to account after baseless years of investigations and government lies and media lies against this man [Trump],” Wax told supporters in 2023, according to a report by Politico. “Now it is time to turn the tables on these actual crooks and lock them up for a change.”

In recent comments, Wax said he views the issues of censorship, content moderation, and platform accountability as central to the FCC’s mission under Trump, a stance that closely mirrors Carr’s. 

In November 2024, Carr vowed to “dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.” He soon followed with letters to tech giants including Alphabet, Apple, Meta, and Microsoft, accusing them of colluding to suppress lawful speech.

Soon after, Carr singled out NewsGuard, a fact-checking firm, as part of the “cartel,” alleging it used its influence with advertisers to punish disfavored outlets. He later doubled down in interviews, calling the effort a top priority of his chairmanship.

Once a relatively low-profile commissioner, Carr has embraced the MAGA identity both rhetorically and visually since becoming chairman. Most recently, he has been sporting a gold Trump lapel pin to public events, and has taken up Trump’s most contentious media battles as regulatory priorities.

Not everyone at the commission is on board with this increasingly partisan posture on online speech. In a February speech, Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez warned that the FCC was being “weaponized” to pressure broadcasters and tech platforms into aligning with Trump’s agenda.

The FCC’s Republican bloc is also expected to grow with the confirmation of Olivia Trusty, a Senate aide nominated by Trump earlier this year. 

Trusty was not closely questioned on media oversight during her April nomination hearing. Although, at one point, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, D-N.M., cautioned her against participating in politically motivated probes, warning that doing so could damage her credibility in Washington. 

“You have a strong reputation [and ethical record] on Capitol Hill. Protect it,” Luján told Trusty. “We need good… Republicans. The FCC should function as a strong, independent body.”