White House Compiling Shortlist of Priority Nominees for 2022
The White House is compiling a shortlist of priority candidates to renominate in 2022 (see our bulletin here), an official in the executive office confirmed Wednesday. This will include “important, noncontroversial” candidates to be sent to the Senate as soon as possible, a former federal official said. The administration “will have more in the coming weeks on who is on the list,” the White House official said.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Timely, relevant coverage of court proceedings and agency rulings involving tariffs, classification, valuation, origin and antidumping and countervailing duties. Each day, Trade Law Daily subscribers receive a daily headline email, in-depth PDF edition and access to all relevant documents via our trade law source document library and website.
It’s unclear whether FCC nominee Gigi Sohn, FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya or NTIA nominee Alan Davidson will make the cut. Sohn faced scrutiny over her involvement with shuttered sports rebroadcaster Locast, for which she was a board member for operator Sports Fans Coalition (see 2112150069). Bedoya faced Republican opposition over his Twitter activity before receiving a 14-14 party-line vote from the Senate Commerce Committee (see 2111170059). Davidson cleared the committee on a voice vote, with three Republicans against (see 2112160070).
All three candidates ought to be renominated and confirmed swiftly, consumer advocates said in interviews. But the Competitive Enterprise Institute said Sohn’s background means she’s not a “noncontroversial candidate.” Advocates defended her record, with Free Press saying Sohn’s views align with FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel.
Officials from the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda and League of United Latin American Citizens renewed calls for President Joe Biden to nominate a Hispanic candidate for the FCC. Sohn, Bedoya and Davidson didn’t comment. Neither did offices for Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.
“These are not trivial positions that need to be filled,” said Public Knowledge CEO Chris Lewis. Sohn answered several questions about Locast in her hearing and made clear “there’s no conflict of interest,” he said. Lewis noted NTIA’s role in overseeing $48 billion allocated under the bipartisan infrastructure law for low-cost broadband service and digital equity. The FTC is at the center of holding Big Tech accountable, and the FCC has important work for closing the digital divide, said Lewis. Regarding Twitter activity, Lewis said, “If that’s going to be a disqualifier, then there are going to be a lot of people disqualified from appointed office in the future.”
“I don’t think you can list Gigi Sohn under ‘noncontroversial,’ in good conscience,” emailed Competitive Enterprise Institute Center for Technology and Innovation Director Jessica Melugin. “With the global race to 5G, the harms of net neutrality are more dangerous than ever, and Sohn’s enthusiasm for those regulations should give every Senator pause.”
Any “controversies” about the candidates are “largely manufactured,” said Free Press General Counsel Matt Wood. He noted Republicans are scrutinizing Sohn far more than they did when confirming FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington. “Deadlock” is their goal, he said: Rosenworcel’s views on net neutrality match those of Sohn. Davidson, Bedoya and Sohn should be confirmed promptly, he said.
Before the nominations, the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda urged Biden to appoint a Hispanic candidate to the FCC, said Chairman Kenneth Romero. It’s important because Spanish-language media, especially radio, has become such a source of disinformation for the Hispanic community on such things as civic engagement and vaccination, he said. He noted the group’s endorsement of Bedoya. If the Sohn nomination falls through, his group wants Biden to nominate Felix Sanchez, president of the National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts.
League of United Latin American Citizens CEO Sindy Benavides noted the organization’s November letter to the committee voicing concerns about Sohn. She should have rejected One America News’ initial endorsement (see 2112090058) because the TV network is guilty of disinformation affecting Latinos, said Benavides. LULAC hopes Biden appoints a Latino who can address broadband divide for that community, said Benavides.
“It’s really important that NTIA, FCC and FTC are fully functional and that the vacancies get filled quickly, so that we can have” proper oversight of communications networks and digital markets, said Yosef Getachew, Common Cause director-Media & Democracy Program.