New squabbles as net neutrality comes down to the wire

Public bickering among members of the Federal Communications Commission is reaching a new high just days before a controversial vote on network neutrality rules. The five-member commission is no stranger to infighting, due in part to its split between three Democrats and two Republicans. But the recent squabbling comes amid the highest-profile issue the commission has tackled in years, and could point to lasting tensions.

FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, one of the two Republican commissioners on the panel, has repeatedly gone to the public to drum up opposition to the rules, which he warns will overstep the agency’s authority and doom people’s easy access to the Internet. He wrote an op-ed in The Chicago Tribune, along with Federal Trade Commissioner Joshua Wright, warning that the looming rules “may take away your freedom to choose the best broadband plan for you.” Commissioner Pai's Chief of Staff accused FCC leadership of trying to “block” his office’s press releases by taking one release down to note that it was from the commissioner’s office, not the FCC as a whole. Commissioner Pai has also appeared on radio and TV shows across the country, talking to pundit Sean Hannity and a slew of local broadcast stations. Backers of the new rules are more critical of Commissioner Pai, and have accused him of using the issue to raise his own profile.