FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn appears to have put the kibosh on a rumor she was considering exiting the commission.
Clyburn's term was up at the end of June. She has not been renominated, but she can continue to serve, and has.
Asked about that rumor, her office cited an interview last week with the Street Roots News, a Portland, Ore., alternative paper, in which she said: "My term was up in June, and with appointments like mine, we can technically serve until this particular Congress adjourns, which is December 2018. So I’m here until or unless someone is appointed in my place – or I win the lottery, whichever comes first."
The Trump Administration is unlikely to try and replace Clyburn. It is having enough trouble getting nominees it has already picked into their posts.
Clyburn joined the commission in 2009 and was renominated and confirmed for a second term in 2013. She served briefly as chairman after the exit of Julius Genachowski and before Tom Wheeler could be confirmed.
Clyburn has made no secret of her disaffection with the deregulatory moves approved by the Republican majority, from media ownership rule changes to the net neutrality reg rollback to Chairman Ajit Pai's revise of the Lifeline broadband subsidy program. But she has also said she wanted to continue to provide a voice for the voiceless and try to help close the digital divide.
