Trump’s NTIA Pick Vows to ‘Finish the Job’ on BEAD

WASHINGTON, March 27, 2025 – As the federal government’s largest broadband funding effort reaches a pivotal moment, President Trump’s nominee to oversee it, Arielle Roth, pledged Thursday to “finish the job” if confirmed.

Roth, who serves as telecom policy director for the Senate Commerce Committee under Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, will testify Thursday in a hearing for her nomination to lead the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the agency responsible for administering broadband funding and managing federal spectrum use.

In prepared remarks delivered to the committee Thursday morning, Roth pledged to “work with members of Congress on both sides of the aisle” to ensure that the $42.45 billion Broadband, Equity, Access, and Deployment program “lives up to its bipartisan legacy.”

Her remarks come as the Commerce Department, which houses NTIA, has announced a major overhaul of the BEAD program. Earlier this month, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick announced a sweeping review aimed at cutting what he called “pointless requirements” imposed under the Biden administration, including a shift toward a tech-neutral, lowest-cost approach.

Roth did not directly address the proposed BEAD overhaul in her testimony.

Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D. spoke in support of Roth on the Senate floor Thursday morning. 

“Roth is very familiar with the burdens that have weighed down the BEAD program,” Thune said. “I am looking forward to working with her to remove these barriers to broadband deployment after she’s confirmed.”

Roth has previously voiced strong opposition to BEAD’s existing rules, criticizing what she described as an “extreme tech bias in favor of fiber” and a “woke social agenda” that included affordability mandates, labor requirements, and environmental regulations. At a June 2024 Federalist Society event, she argued that the program had strayed from Congress’s intent.

Roth’s confirmation hearing is scheduled for 2:15 p.m. ET Thursday in the Russell Senate Office Building, with a committee vote to advance her nomination to the full Senate expected in the coming weeks.