Republican Majority Derailed as FCC Loses Two Members

WASHINGTON, June 5, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission will lose two commissioners this week, with Nathan Simington and Geoffrey Starks both stepping down Friday. Their exits will leave the agency with only two members and no majority, effectively freezing its ability to advance new rules.

Simington’s unexpected resignation throws a wrench into GOP plans to secure a majority at the FCC. With Starks' departure also confirmed Wednesday in a blog post by Chairman Brendan Carr, disrupts what Republicans had anticipated would be a smooth transition to a 2-1 conservative edge.

Republican senators now say they’re preparing to accelerate the confirmation process for Trump’s nominee, Olivia Trusty. Meanwhile, Democratic lawmakers have been urging the president and Senate to stick with tradition and pair her confirmation with a Democratic nominee.

Simington, in a statement, said the FCC remains “in excellent hands” under Carr. But multiple officials and lobbyists said Simington’s departure came as a shock, even to Carr’s office, and disrupted conservative plans to fast-track certain deregulatory initiatives following Starks’ planned exit.

With only Carr and Commissioner Anna Gomez remaining, the FCC lacks the minimum three-member quorum required to adopt new rules or vote on significant policy matters.

Public Knowledge’s Broadband Policy Director Alisa Valentin warned, “Simington’s sudden departure effectively leaves the agency without a bipartisan quorum, which stalls its ability to move forward with any meaningful actions,” and “will likely result in painful consequences throughout the communications ecosystem for consumers.”

Carr said the FCC will press ahead with its June 26 open meeting. In Wednesday’s blog post, he outlined an agenda for the meeting that includes rolling back more than 70 cable rate regulations, modernizing certain accessibility rules, and easing technical filing burdens for broadband providers under the Broadband Data Collection.

“There’s a lot of time between now and our scheduled June 26 Commission meeting,” Carr said. “Stay tuned.”