Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.), chair of the Senate Commerce Committee, has tapped a former Charter Communications executive with plenty of Capitol Hill experience for a top communications post.
Christianna Barnhart is joining the committee as senior counsel for the Communications Subcommittee.
“Ms. Barnhart will bring more than a decade of experience and expertise in both the public and private sectors to advance the Committee’s priorities in broadband deployment and affordability, spectrum policy, oversight of the Federal Communications Commission and the National Telecommunications Information Administration,“ Cantwell’s office said.
Barnhart has been the technology and telecommunications team lead for Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), who is the former ranking member on the Communications Subcommittee, a post held by a Republican after Democrats took over the Senate in the last election.
Before joining the Senate, Barnhart was VP for regulatory affairs for Charter and before that, an adviser to then-Federal Communications Commission member (now acting chair) Jessica Rosenworcel, dealing with the Rural Health Care Program.
