What Will a Trump FCC Look Like?

A new administration always bring many questions from clients about how their Federal Communications Commission issues may be impacted. A Trump presidency brings even more questions than usual, because his campaign did not set out detailed proposals on telecommunications and spectrum policy.
While much speculation brews inside the Beltway, this is what we can say for sure:

• The FCC is an independent federal agency. That means that it is not a cabinet agency and, at least theoretically, is independent of the president’s control. (The White House sets its telecommunications policies through the Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration.) But President Trump will select the new FCC Chairman and his party will hold a majority of the five Commissioner positions. Those selections will dictate the tone of the Commission’s activities, if not the specific policies.
• It will take time to get a new FCC Chairman. Based on recent history, we doubt that a new FCC Chairman will be nominated and confirmed until late spring or early summer. While the lack of information from the Trump campaign does not mean that no one has thought about possible nominees (and certainly there are plenty of Republicans itching to push their favorite nominee), FCC appointments are not highest on a new president’s to-do list. Meanwhile, the most senior Republican, Ajit Pai, likely will become Acting Chairman after the inauguration.
• The FCC’s professional staff will keep the agency running. The Commission employs a large number of highly competent and professional staff – lawyers, engineers and others – who are well-versed in running the Commission’s day-to-day activities. Most work is done at the “staff level” and that work should continue on schedule. Whatever big policy issues are not wrapped up by December will be on hold until new leadership arrives.