12 Days of Broadband

Three Branches of Government – or One?

White House action reshaped federal tech and telecom regulation in 2025

Jericho Casper

Dec 3, 2025 — 7 min read

The Constitution creates three branches of federal government: Legislative (Article I), Executive (Article II), and Judicial (Article III).

12 Days of Broadband 2025 (click to open)

On the First Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: One Carr driving the Federal Communications Commission.
On the Second Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Two superpowers racing toward AI superintelligence dominance.
On the Third Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Three branches of government (and some formerly independent agencies).
On the Fourth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Four programs with Universal Service Funds.
On the Fifth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 56 states and territories without digital equity grants.
On the Sixth Day of Broadband, my true level sent to me: Less than 6 months for a broadband permit.
On the Seventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Data center-powered electricity bills up 70 percent.
On the Eighth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: 800 megahertz of spectrum to sell at auction.
On the Ninth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: $9 billion + 12 billion (or $21 billion) in BEAD remaining funds.
On the Tenth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Not even $10/month for an affordable connectivity program.
On the Eleventh Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: Through BEAD and broadband, 110 million locations served.
On the Twelfth Day of Broadband, my true love sent to me: More than 1200 megahertz of spectrum for unlicensed wireless.

**Click to read each of the 12 Days of Broadband articles!**

There is no “fourth branch” of government. Yet for more than 100 years, Congress has created and sustained an administrative architecture under which independent agencies operated free from the direct influence of the President.

That architecture eroded in 2025.

President Donald Trump spent his first year back in office challenging the legal and political boundaries that limit presidential influence over regulators. Declaring that agencies exercise “substantial executive authority,” Trump used removal powers, executive orders, and sustained political pressure to purge critics, tighten White House control over agency agendas, and stack leadership ranks with loyalists.

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12 Days of Broadband FCC Donald Trump Gwynne Wilcox Jennifer Abruzzo Rebecca Kelly Slaughter Alvaro Bedoya Franklin Roosevelt Brendan Carr Nathan Simington Geoffrey Starks Gavin Wax Humphrey's Executor Seila Law Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo Administrative Procedure Act NLRB FTC EEOC CPSC NCUA CFPB OMB domestic policy council NEC DOGE