Simington, Wax Call on Trump to ‘DOGE’ the FCC
The commissioner and his new chief of staff called for slashing subsidies and downsizing staff.
Jericho Casper
WASHINGTON, May 12, 2025 – The Federal Communications Commission is a prime candidate for DOGE-style reform, said Commissioner Nathan Simington and his newly appointed Chief of Staff Gavin Wax.
In an op-ed published Friday in the Daily Caller, Simington and Wax called for “Trump to DOGE the FCC,” a reference to the Elon Musk-led Department of Government Efficiency aimed at cutting spending and reducing staff.
The pair recommended sweeping changes to the agency’s structure and programs, including slashing the Universal Service Fund, downsizing the FCC’s Media Bureau, and automating the agency’s licensing process.
“From redundant enforcement structures to legacy programs that drain resources with little oversight, the FCC is entangled by outdated practices that burden consumers, broadcasters, and taxpayers alike,” wrote Simington and Wax.
The pair argued that the Universal Service Fund – a multibillion-dollar program that helps subsidize phone and internet access in rural areas, schools, and low-income households – was an “amalgam of obsolete and overlapping initiatives.”
“Wired internet subsidies are increasingly unnecessary and cost-inefficient,” they wrote.
The two also called for reassigning staff from the FCC’s Media Bureau, particularly those involved in regulating traditional television and radio, to other offices such as the Space Bureau.
“The Media Bureau remains significantly overstaffed,” Wax and Simington wrote. They questioned the Bureau’s political neutrality.
Simington and Wax previously called in The National Pulse for the FCC to cap reverse retransmission fees as a way to drain financial power from national networks like CBS, CNN, and MSNBC, whom they accused of “pumping out politicized content” at the expense of local newsrooms.
Since Wax’s appointment, Simington’s office has taken a more combative tone on media issues – fueling criticism that the FCC was increasingly acting as an enforcer of Trump’s political agenda rather than an independent regulator.
Another area Simington and Wax identified as ripe for reform was the FCC’s licensing process, which they criticize as outdated and labor-intensive.
Their proposals come amid ongoing staffing changes at the FCC. At a press conference following the FCC’s April meeting, Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez acknowledged early retirements, warning that the agency was experiencing a “brain drain.”
“We’ve seen a lot of employees – really good, dedicated staff – take early outs already,” Gomez told Broadband Breakfast.
When asked whether she had any information about the internal DOGE team, Gomez said: “I don’t have any information on DOGE activities within the Commission. If we do have any DOGE activities, I hope that it is a thoughtful and deliberative process, and that it is not taking a chainsaw to the FCC, but instead keeps in mind that our core mission is to protect consumers and to promote innovation and competition.”
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has already begun implementing an internal DOGE-style review. He said last month FCC staff had “pulled every single contract that the FCC has” to identify and eliminate unnecessary spending.
