Policymakers

As they entered office at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in early 2021, Xavier Becerra and his allies had a plan to restore Americans’ faith in the nation’s beleaguered public health agencies. Four years later, the pandemic has receded. But trust in America’s health agencies has not recovered.

Rep Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced the Committee’s Subcommittee Chief Counsels for the 119th Congress. Kate O’Connor Harper will serve as Chief Counsel for the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology, where she has served for the past 5 years. Kate previously served as the Chief of Staff for the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, where she worked on legislative and communications policy focused on spectrum and broadband issues.

Every day at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), we work to promote technology in the service of human progress. That has been the throughline of our actions on Internet connectivity, spectrum and tech policy.

The Senate Republican Conference ratified Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) as Chairman of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation. Joining the committee are three new Republican members for the 119^th Congress: Senators John Curtis (R-UT), Bernie Moreno (R-OH), and Tim Sheehy (R-MT). Remaining on the committee are Senators John Thune (R-SD), Roger Wicker (R-MS), Deb Fischer (R-NE), Jerry Moran (R-KS), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Todd Young (R-IN), Ted Budd (R-NC), Eric Schmitt (R-MO), Shelley Moore Capito (R-WV), and Cynthia Lummis (R-WY).

On January 3, 2025, the 119th Congress was sworn in. Republicans now hold majorities in both the House and the Senate. With the incoming Trump administration, Congressional Republicans have a lengthy list of priorities.

As the 119th Congress convenes, the House's legislative and oversight agenda for all things broadband will likely start and live with the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. Here we look at changes in leadership in this key committee and how the priorities of these new leaders may impact broadband policy. Republicans tapped Rep. Brett Guthrie (R-KY-2) to chair the Commerce Committee. On December 20, Chairman Guthrie named Rep. Richard Hudson (R-NC-09) to be Chairman of the Subcommittee on Communications and Technology for the 119th Congress.

Congressman Brett Guthrie (R-KY), Chairman-Elect of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, announced the Committee’s Senior Staff members for the 119th Congress:

The global wall of resistance to Elon Musk’s satellite business is crumbling. Even before Musk spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars to help Donald Trump retake the US presidency, SpaceX’s Starlink was picking off swaths of the world country by country.

Jonathan Kanter has stepped down as one of President Joe Biden’s top antitrust enforcers, but he is hopeful that the next administration will uphold the crackdown on corporate power that he has helped unleash. Since taking the job in 2021, Kanter shook the establishment by rejecting the notion that corporate growth be tolerated so long as consumers were not harmed—a shift from the “consumer welfare” standard that has underpinned US antitrust policy since the 1970s. During his tenure he has successfully blocked several major 

President-elect Trump has tasked Vivek Ramaswamy and Elon Musk with eliminating federal government waste through the Department of Government Efficiency. We believe there’s a huge opportunity to reduce government spending while improving service—by relocating more federal services online, supported by robust internet connections.