- Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announced Tuesday that he will be departing the FCC this spring
- The FCC traditionally operates with a 3:2 majority reflecting the party that occupies the White House
- Sources told Fierce they expect he’ll get it, but they’re not sure FCC Chairman Brendan Carr even needs a Republican majority to complete the bulk of his agenda
With Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks announcing his plans to leave the agency this spring, FCC Chairman Brendan Carr is that much closer to having a Republican majority on board. How much he needs that majority is another question.
Already, Carr has done away with FCC diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) initiatives, taking a particular interest in Comcast and Verizon. He launched the “delete, delete, delete” initiative to deregulate the FCC. And he’s targeting media outlets on the grounds of "news distortion," to name a few things.
He’s done all that while the commission is split 2:2. Olivia Trusty, President Trump’s nominee for the third Republican seat on the commission, awaits a Senate confirmation hearing, which has not yet been set.
Obviously, Carr doesn’t need an FCC majority to execute on his agenda. That’s what New Street Research analyst and former FCC chief of staff Blair Levin said back in December and that still holds true today.
“From my perspective, it’s kind of irrelevant,” he told Fierce on Tuesday. “Most of what Carr wants to do, he doesn’t need a majority to do. To get his majority, it doesn’t matter if it’s 4:1 or 3:2. Why would it make a difference?”
Given Carr’s agenda, which mirrors President Trump’s, he can direct the bureaus at the FCC to do many of the things he wants without a full commission vote, Levin noted. “Carr has demonstrated an ability to act without a majority, so I don’t think that changes,” except for media ownership rules. Everything else can be done by FCC bureaus at his direction.
As for why Starks is leaving now – he said he will resign his seat “this spring” – that’s not entirely clear, but his desire to leave has been known since December. That’s when Punch Bowl reported that Senate Democrat leader Chuck Schumer was pressuring Starks to stay long enough to help delay the implementation of a new Republican agenda following Trump’s inauguration.
Who’s up next?
The name often cited as a possible replacement for Starks on the FCC is Schumer aide Didier Barjon, according to industry sources who spoke to Fierce on condition of anonymity. Bloomberg also reported that SpaceX lobbyist David Goldman is a top contender.
Oftentimes, the minority leader or ranking member of the Senate Commerce Committee recommends an individual to be nominated to the FCC and it typically runs through the leader’s office. That’s one reason so many commissioners have been former Senate staffers, said Michael Calabrese, director of Wireless Future Project at New America’s Open Technology Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based consumer advocacy group.
Could it be 4:1 instead of 3:2?
Historically, when it’s working at full capacity, the FCC is composed of five commissioners, the majority of whom reflect whatever party is in the White House. According to the FCC’s website, only three commissioners can be of the same political party at any given time.
To underscore that, the Communications Act of 1934 stipulates that the maximum number of commissioners who may be members of the same political party “shall be a number equal to the least number of commissioners which constitutes a majority of the full membership of the Commission.”
But this is Trump 2.0, and traditions in Washington, D.C., are getting thrown out the window faster than you can say, “See you in court.”
Still, sources told Fierce that once Trusty gets confirmed, there’s little incentive for Trump to pursue a 4:1 Republican majority because the result will be the same as with a 3:2 Republican majority, per Levin's previous comment.
“It is certainly possible that President Trump could nominate an independent, or even a nominal Democrat with an outlook closer to his own,” Calabrese said. “However, there is little practical upside for the administration, since the two Democrats could always be out-voted and Chairman Carr completely controls the commission’s agenda. A bit downside for Republicans is they would need to consider the long-term cost of not having any input into the commissioners nominated by the next Democratic president.”
Effectiveness matters
According to Levin, few commissioners are effective when they're in the minority, but there are a few that stick out in his mind.
Carr was appointed to the FCC when Ajit Pai, a Republican, was chairman during the first Trump administration, and he served throughout Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel’s tenure as FCC chair under President Biden. Pai, incidentally, will be taking over as president and CEO of CTIA, the wireless lobbying organization, in April. Pai was nominated to the FCC under President Obama.
Levin singled out Carr and Pai as “extremely effective minority commissioners,” as was Michael Copps, a Democrat who was on the FCC under two different Republican chairmen.
Copps, described by Politico as the “Keith Richards” of the FCC when he retired, left the commission more than a decade ago, but Levin still considers him among the most effective serving in the minority.
“I think Michael Copps, Brendan Carr and Ajit Pai showed how a minority commissioner can be very effective,” he said.
That speaks to a commissioner’s ability to interact with the public, the press and their constituents in general.
“The question isn’t about their vote. It’s about their political effectiveness. The question for the Democrats is: Do you want someone who’s going to be politically effective in countering Carr? … But the vote itself is not that relevant because Carr will have the majority,” Levin concluded.