FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez Wages a Lonely Fight for Press Freedom in Trumpland

Like any liberal on Fox News, Federal Communications Commissioner Anna Gomez finds herself outnumbered. But that hasn’t stopped the Democratic appointee to the FCC from publicly speaking out about “sham investigations” and what she calls the weaponizing of the commission to serve the interests of President Trump. Commissioner Gomez recently took her efforts to combat the FCC’s actions and support press freedom to Los Angeles. A May 28 event sponsored by the advocacy group Free Press marked the first stop outside of Washington in a “First Amendment Listening Tour” Gomez is conducting to call attention to the Trump administration’s hostility toward mainstream media. After the panel, the Commissioner struck a realistic note about what she can hope to accomplish as the soon-to-be lone Democrat on the five-member body, with Commissioner Geoffrey Starks having announced that he’ll formally depart later in June. “I do work with my fellow commissioners and try to add value, and where I can agree, I will,” she said. “But if not, I’m going to speak out. So this is my role.”