Policymakers

The opponents of [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] Gigi Sohn's nomination to the Federal Communications Commission are bringing out their familiar artillery in their effort to keep her off the agency, where she would be the third Democrat, giving the Biden administration the majority it would need to tackle partisan issues, notably network neutrality rules. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) launched an attack on her character and her politics, while Fox News Channel also ran a story taking aim.

A coalition of Hispanic groups is renewing calls for President Joe Biden to “name a person of Latino descent” to the Federal Communications Commission. The campaign comes as the White House forges ahead with the long-stalled nomination of Gigi Sohn. The groups lamented that the FCC has lacked a Latino commissioner for over two decades and said appointing one would make it “more likely” the agency would “champion equitable language access” and push for more inclusive internet access policies.

For the first time in my memory, the Senate does not have the votes to approve the nominated FCC Commissioner, Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society]. This has meant that the FCC has been on hold and we’ve had a two-year deadlock between the two Democratic and Republican Commissioners on any controversial issues. There are a number of FCC initiatives that are on hold until there is a fifth Commissioner:

The Office of the Special Envoy for Critical and Emerging Technology begins operations at the Department of State. Secretary Blinken established the office as part of the wider modernization agenda because the constellation of critical and emerging technologies reshaping the world is now an integral part of the conduct of US foreign policy and diplomacy.

As I said during the last Congress, Gigi Sohn is ‘an accomplished leader whose talent, expertise, and experience will invigorate our work at the FCC.’ I continue to hold that view. Whether we’re protecting consumers, securing our networks, or bringing the promise of new technologies to every community, Americans deserve an FCC that is working at full strength.

House Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ) announced the staff that will lead the six subcommittees in the 118th Congress:

The third time might be the charm for [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] Gigi Sohn. New Street Research analyst Blair Levin predicted Sohn will once again be approved by the Senate Commerce Committee “relatively quickly.” If Sohn does finally make it to the Federal Communications Commission, Levin said she could help advance action on issues like net neutrality, digital discrimination, and spectrum.

I’m proud of the work the Commission has accomplished in the last two years. Closing the Homework Gap, broadband access and affordability, telehealth, mapping, and network security are top priorities and we’ve acted accordingly. Gigi [Sohn] is a knowledgeable nominee with a long record of commitment to the issues before the FCC and I congratulate her on nomination as a Commissioner at the agency. I look forward to the day we have a full complement of five commissioners.

On the first day of the 118th Congress, President Joe Biden nominated Gigi B. Sohn, of the District of Columbia, to be a Member of the Federal Communications Commission for a term of five years from July 1, 2021, vice Ajit Varadaraj Pai, term expired.

More than one year ago, President Joe Biden nominated longtime net neutrality proponent and consumer advocate Gigi Sohn [Senior Fellow and Public Advocate at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society] to the Federal Communications Commission. The full Senate has yet to vote on her confirmation.