FCC commissioner Mignon Clyburn will become acting chair of the agency effective Monday, May 20, according to an FCC spokesperson. She will be the first woman to hold that post.
Chairman Julius Genachowski's and Republican commissioner Robert McDowell's last day is Friday, May 17, with both headed to think tanks, at least temporarily, Genachowski to the Aspen Institute, where he will rejoin his former National Broadband Plan czar Blair Levin, and McDowell to the Hudson Institute.
The FCC will be at the bare minimum needed for a quorum -- three members -- until FCC chair nominee Tom Wheeler can receive his nomination hearing -- no earlier than the beginning of June said a Senate Commerce Committee spokesman -- and a Republican replacement for McDowell's seat has been vetted and nominated by the White House.
That could take from several weeks to several months. Two weeks ago, the FCC's June 6 meeting was pushed back to June 27, which will give new chair Clyburn more time to tee up her first public meeting atop the agency.
