Ajit Pai and Jessica Rosenworcel are
two veteran Senate advisors with
FCC experience and the support of
legislators on
both sides of the
aisle. They were
the consensus
picks of Senate
Republican
and Democratic
leaders for the
two FCC seats
vacated last year
by commissioners Michael Copps
and Meredith Attwell Baker.
Rosenworcel is considered by Washington
insiders to be future FCC chairman
material, while Pai is described as
smart and ambitious. If they get full
Senate confirmation and are installed,
they will likely help determine how
broadcast spectrum is reclaimed and
re-auctioned for wireless, how media
ownership rules
are modified (or
not), how the
FCC regulates
indecency going
forward and how
the agency treats
broadband video
delivery systems.
And if their
nominations are ultimately thwarted
by the unrelated flap over Light-
Squared’s FCC waiver, their names
should be remembered as victims of a
seemingly systemic D.C. divisiveness
that continues to keep capable people
from doing important work.
