Administration Faces Hill Concerns on 5G Policy, AT&T/TW Interference Claims
President Donald Trump's administration is facing resistance from Capitol Hill on communications policy issues, including on his re-election campaign's recent comments in favor of the government making spectrum being reserved for 5G available to carriers on wholesale (see 1903040058). Several top Senate Commerce Committee members told us they aren't convinced by the campaign's walk back of those comments amid perceptions the wholesale proposal conflicts with White House 5G policy. Democratic lawmakers indicated interest in launching a probe into reports Trump pressured two now-former administration officials to ensure DOJ filed a now-ended lawsuit to block AT&T's purchase of Time Warner.
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Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., chuckled when asked by reporters Tuesday about the Trump campaign's 5G comments but said he's “still processing” the sequence of events. Commerce led off the new Congress last month with a 5G-centric hearing dominated by concerns about national security implications of the U.S. race against China to dominate development of the wireless technology (see 1902060002).
Senate Communications Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us he plans to “have some conversations with” administration officials to clarify lingering uncertainties about the White House's 5G policy stance. Trump's recent comments about 5G and Chinese telecom equipment manufacturers Huawei and ZTE caused confusion about his future actions (see 1902210057).
Sens. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and Catherine Cortez Masto, D-Nev., separately told us they're concerned enough by the Trump campaign comments to be exploring reintroducing their Eliminate From Regulators Opportunities to Nationalize The Internet in Every Respect (E-Frontier) Act. The bill, filed last year, would bar the White House from proposing the U.S. build a national 5G network without congressional authorization (see 1807230059). Cruz and Cortez Masto bowed the legislation in response to a leaked National Security Council draft memo that proposed 5G nationalization because of concerns China could otherwise build a network (see 1801290034).
Cruz said he's fairly certain he'll refile the E-Frontier Act, and Cortez Masto told us she's still trying to “figure it out.” Cortez Masto gave the Trump campaign credit for clarifying its policy statement, but “what I have seen over the years is that this administration changes its positions ... too often for my taste. That's why I'm going to bird-dog this and make sure that it doesn't become a national issue.” The U.S. needs “to lead when it comes to 5G, but that also means we have to invest in broadband in rural and underserved areas,” she said.
Senate Communications ranking member Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said he agrees the Trump campaign's initial policy stance is a “bad idea” on the merits, but it's also “an idea that would benefit from benign neglect” rather than formal attention from the Hill. “It's beyond weird that a campaign would take a position on public policy that is contrary to the administration's position,” he told us. “There's bipartisan opposition to nationalizing a 5G network. Plus, we don't really have the money to do that.”
Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, questioned how important the Trump campaign's statement really is since the campaign reversed course. “Sometimes, the campaigns work hard but don't always get the policy side right,” he said. “What I think matters is” what House and Senate Commerce committees do in terms of setting 5G policy.
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., was among lawmakers who want to investigate details of a report that Trump in 2017 ordered then-National Economic Council Director Gary Cohn and then-White House Chief of Staff John Kelly to pressure DOJ into mounting the legal challenge to AT&T/TW (see 1903040027). DOJ said last month it won't further appeal its challenge of the deal after the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit ruled against it (see 1902260040). “Congress must find out” whether Trump influenced DOJ's actions on AT&T/TW “to carry out his vendetta against the press,” Schiff tweeted.
Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., said he will “be writing to the DOJ to get to the bottom of” the report's claims and “make sure it never happens again.” If the report's “true, it is deeply troubling. Mergers need to be closely examined and reviewed on their merits,” not “because the President wants to retaliate against a news organization,” Van Hollen tweeted. Sen. Chris Coons, D-Del., tweeted he's “concerned” about the report. “Regardless of your opinion on [AT&T/TW], the Admin is supposed to look out for the best interests of the American people, not settle scores for the President.”
The administration's actions on 5G and AT&T/TW could come up in hearings and congressional oversight, though much depends on how lawmakers prioritize them against other matters, communications sector lobbyists said. The campaign's move to set policy in direct conflict with administration views is extraordinary and could provide Democrats ammunition in coming months, but other telecom issues will almost certainly become a higher priority unless the administration takes further action that would indicate a true policy U-turn, said one lobbyist who follows Democratic lawmakers.
Wireless industry stakeholders are gauging "how seriously to take" support for the 5G wholesale concept among some Trump campaign officials, a telecom lobbyist said. "So far, no one in the White House who actually makes telecom policy is embracing" that proposal, which likely will assuage stakeholders for now.