And Then There Were Five – Senate Approves Anna Gomez as Fifth FCC Commissioner – What Broadcast Issues Could a Full FCC Consider?

By: David Oxenford (Broadcast Law Blog)

This week, the Senate gave the green light to Anna Gomez to fill the open Democratic seat on the FCC that’s been empty since the Biden Administration kicked off. We mentioned back in May when the President first picked her that Gomez is no newbie to government. She’s done her time at NTIA, where they deal with federal spectrum and communication issues, and she’s been over at the State Department, getting ready for big international stages on communication topics. She’s even got a history in private law practice.

Now, President Biden also said, “Hey, let’s keep Commissioners Starks and Carr around for another term,” but those plans are still hanging in the balance – no thumbs-up this week for them alongside Gomez. Starks’ term has actually run out, but he’s got this one-year carry-over deal that keeps him in the game until January 2024. Carr’s term is set to expire by the end of this year, but if his reappointment doesn’t get the nod, he can keep at it until the end of 2024.

Rumor has it they might bundle these nominations with other ones for different government gigs to avoid turning the FCC into a partisan battleground come January, especially if Starks doesn’t get the reappointment thumbs-up by then…

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