Thumann Severs Nomination Hearing Postponed
The Senate Commerce Committee didn’t immediately set a new date
WASHINGTON, Sept. 14, 2026 – The Senate Commerce Committee has postponed a nomination hearing for a new Federal Communications Commissioner.
The committee was set to consider Danielle Thumann Severs’ nomination to join the agency this week on Thursday, Sept. 17 at 10:30 a.m.
The office of Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, the chairman of the committee, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The committee’s site didn’t say when a new hearing would be or why it was put off, only that it was now postponed “until a later date.”
Thumann Severs, currently a top attorney for FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, would give Republicans a 3-1 majority at the agency.
Several telecom trade groups, including NATE and NCTA, backed her nomination in a letter to Senate leadership and urged a quick confirmation. The Congressional Hispanic Caucus, whose members are all Democrats, wanted the chamber to hold off until the Trump administration nominated a Democrat to fill the other vacant seat.
By law, three of the FCC’s five members can be from the president's party. Nominations have historically paired Republican and Democratic officials.
The agency needs three members to vote on new rules and proposals, the number it has now. Anna Gomez, the agency’s lone Democrat, technically ended her term in July. If she’s not renominated, she can stay on until she’s replaced or until the next session of Congress ends. That would be in January 2028.
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., the top Democrat on the Senate Commerce Committee, opposed FCC Commissioner Olivia Trusty’s nomination last year, citing a similar lack of Democratic appointees despite an open seat.
