Add New America's Open Technology Institute (OTI) to those unhappy with Sen. Maria Cantwell's decision to scheduled a second nomination hearing for Democratic Federal Communications Commission nominee Gigi Sohn.
Sohn's confirmation vote had been scheduled for this week but has been delayed after Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) suffered a stroke and could not participate. Sohn's was one of three nominations delayed because Republicans are expected to oppose them and every Democratic vote is needed.
That delay allowed Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, to grant the request by ranking member Roger Wicker for a second Sohn hearing he argued was needed due, in part, to Sohn's offer to recuse herself from some issues due to her former advocacy role at Public Knowledge and elsewhere.
But scheduling that hearing has not sat well with Sohn fans, who see it as helping her opponents delay or derail her confirmation.
Also Read: Cantwell Targeted Over Second Sohn Hearing
While conceding the Sohn confirmation vote probably needed to be delayed, OTI made clear that should have not have extended to a second hearing.
“Senator Lujan is a dedicated public servant and we wish him well in his recovery. While his absence necessitates a pause on some of the Commerce Committee’s work, we are dismayed to see what has been added to the agenda," said Joshua Stager, deputy director for broadband and competition policy, at OTI.
"The hearing that chair Cantwell noticed last night is a gift to AT&T, Comcast and the other companies that have worked for years to weaken the FCC’s authority and who benefit from a deadlocked agency," said Stager.
Stager argues Sohn should not be recusing herself anyway, so Cantwell should ask for the recusal to be withdrawn.“The Senate’s role here is to advise and consent, not obstruct and delay,” he said. “Gigi Sohn is an exceptionally qualified nominee and it’s time to confirm her. We need a fully functioning FCC."
The FCC is currently at a 2-2 tie, with decisions on partisan issues like net neutrality and broadcast regulation needing Sohn's third Democratic vote to be taken up. One of the other two nominations delayed due to Lujan's stroke is a third Democrat for the Federal Trade Commission so it, too, can take up issues with partisan divides.
One source familiar with the thinking of the committee majority said: “[W]e’re all frustrated that Republicans will literally do anything — including boycotting a markup of qualified, critical nominees like Gigi Sohn, Alvaro Bedoya [the fifth Federal Trade Commission member], Mary Boyle [to the Consumer Product Safety Commission] and countless more — in order to hamper the president’s agenda.” ■
