Senate Commerce Advances Kratsios for OSTP Director, Meador for FTC
The Senate Commerce Committee advanced White House Office of Science and Technology Policy director nominee Michael Kratsios and FTC nominee Mark Meador on Wednesday, with some panel Democrats joining all Republicans in supporting President Donald Trump’s picks. Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington and seven other Democrats voted against Meador. Cantwell noted that Meador “hedged” in his responses to questions from her and other Democrats about whether he would “refuse to carry out illegal orders from” Trump. “The answer from any nominee should simply be ‘no,’” she said: “I just don’t believe today that [Meador] is the right person for the FTC. We need somebody who believes that they’re not just a rubber stamp for the president, but have responsibilities and duties to carry out.”
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Cantwell and all but four Senate Commerce Democrats voted for Kratsios. Cantwell praised him, saying he “understands the national security imperative related to technology investment,” including his recognition of “the importance of the [2022] Chips and Science Act.”
The panel also advanced four telecom bills: the Informing Consumers About Smart Devices Act (S-28), Securing Semiconductor Supply Chains Act (S-97), an amended version of the Removing Our Unsecure Technologies to Ensure Reliability and Security Act (S-244) and Proper Leadership to Align Networks for Broadband Act (S-323) with changes from Cantwell and Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss.