NTIA Nominee Roth Mostly Noncommittal on Key BEAD Issues
Roth offered no guarantees that states won’t have to restart BEAD subgrantee selections.
Jericho Casper
WASHINGTON, March 27, 2025 – States racing to close the digital divide got little reassurance Thursday from NTIA nominee Arielle Roth that their broadband plans won’t be derailed.
Roth, tapped by President Donald Trump to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, repeatedly sidestepped senators’ questions about how she might alter the $42.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program during her nomination hearing before the Senate Commerce Committee.
“I’m not in a position to make a specific commitment,” Roth told Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., when asked if she would oppose changes that would force states to restart the subgrantee selection process. “I will commit to working to expedite the program as much as possible.”
Peters then asked whether Roth would preserve states’ flexibility to choose the broadband technology that best fits their needs. Again, Roth stopped short of a firm promise, saying she would work with state broadband offices to “better understand their needs” and avoid “subjecting them to excessive red tape.”
Roth continually repeated – more than twenty times – that her “primary objective” for BEAD would be to get broadband to every single American “as expeditiously, efficiently, and effectively as possible.”
Her refusal to commit to preserving state broadband plans under the current BEAD framework raised concern among senators, especially after Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced a rigorous review of the BEAD program earlier this month.
“I know that my state and many others have invested a lot of energy and capital in complying with the current rules as they should, and that we do not want to start from scratch,” Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said. “We don't want to delay this anymore, and we are worried that anything that would make it more disruptive would be problematic.”
In response to a question from Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., about whether she would uphold BEAD funding decisions made in 2023 — now under review by the Trump administration — Roth said she “look[s] forward to reviewing those allocations and ensuring that the program is compliant with the law.”
The hearing also resurfaced fears that the Trump administration may shift BEAD rules to favor satellite providers like Elon Musk’s Starlink.
“The Trump administration may eliminate the program's preference for fiber and make satellite providers like Starlink eligible for BEAD funding in all circumstances,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., pressing Roth. “Ms. Roth, do you support that change?”
“Senator, as I've said before, I would administer the law consistent with the statute and… I do believe that Congress wrote the law in a technology-neutral manner,” Roth answered, emphasizing she would not administer BEAD to benefit any specific company or individual.
Committee Chairman Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, also repeatedly emphasized he sees BEAD’s statutory requirement to be “technologically neutral,” accusing the Biden administration of blacklisting Starlink for political reasons.
“If Elon Musk had decided to be a ginormous Democrat donor, I have no doubt the Biden administration would have celebrated Starlink,” Cruz said.
Only two of the committee’s 15 Republican members attended the hearing: Cruz and freshman Sen. Bernie Moreno of Ohio, leaving Democrats to dominate the questioning.
Roth testified with family (including five children) and supporters nearby. Roth disclosed she’s close to giving birth to her sixth child. Roth is married to former Jones Day attorney Yaakov Roth, who resigned on Feb. 21 to become principal deputy assistant attorney general in the Justice Department’s civil division.
