With FCC's Starks Moving On, Carr Just Days Away from 2-1 GOP Majority
The Supreme Court dealt a further blow to for-cause removal protections the court defended in Humphrey's Executor v. United States.
GOP: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is just days away from having a 2-1 majority as Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said yesterday he would not participate at the agency’s June 26 open meeting. Starks, who made his announcement at the FCC’s open meeting in Washington, D.C., did not provide a specific date for his departure, possibly complicating Carr’s near-term plans a bit. With Starks out of the way, Carr can be less anxious about when the Senate will confirm Republican Olivia Trusty, an aide to Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.) who was approved by the Senate Commerce Committee on April 30 in a 21-7 in a vote. The seven to vote against her were all Democrats. Majority Leader John Thune said the Senate would take up four nominations today, including President Trump’s pick to run NASA, who was seated next to Trusty at her April 9 confirmation hearing.
Broadband Breakfast
With a majority at hand, Carr can expedite his priorities to get more spectrum in the hands of the private sector, energize the space economy, and sunset outdated rules and regulations. Certainly, the National Association of Broadcasters would like to see Carr move quickly to eliminate local and national constraints on the ability of TV and radio stations to merge so they can better compete against Big Tech. Carr, quite possibly, might want to wait to see what the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eight Circuit says about FCC media ownership rules adopted in late 2023 by the FCC under then-FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel, whose appellate record has suffered some big defeats. “We are going to go into a point where we will have a majority for the Republicans, and I will be in the minority. And it does change the dynamics. It’s a lot easier for the majority to get their policies put forward,” FCC Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez said at a press conference yesterday. “But it’s not going to stop me from speaking out.” Prior to Gomez’s remarks, Carr at his own press conference was asked what he would say if President Trump asked him about firing Gomez. “There’s a baseline of no answering of speculative questions,” Carr said with a reminder that the Communications Act “does not include for-cause removal protections for FCC Commissioners.” He added, “That goes for everybody who serves on the agency.” Starks announced on March 18 that he would leave “this spring.” (More after paywall, including PDF of SCOTUS opinion last night.)
