Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) is urging Congress to move the nomination of Gigi Sohn to be the fifth member of the Federal Communications Commission.
Her nomination has been held up for two years because not enough Democrats could be lined up to hold a Senate vote. The nomination failed to be reported favorably from the Commerce Committee, which was tied on advancing it to the full Senate.
“It is outrageous that the FCC has gone without a full slate of commissioners while the nomination of the supremely qualified and prepared nominee, Gigi Sohn, languishes amidst lies and homophobia,“ Markey said.
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Sohn would be the first openly gay FCC commissioner, though her failure to advance has likely more to do with her support for Title II-based net neutrality rules and some tweets when she was a private citizen.
“The work of the Commission — from net neutrality to closing the digital divide — is too important for this nomination to be delayed any further,” Markey said. “Gigi Sohn is President Biden’s nominee, and Congress should confirm her as soon as possible. As a member of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee and a longtime advocate for advancing telecommunications equity and access, I will continue to fight back against baseless attacks and push for swift confirmation.”
Markey is primarily addressing fellow Democrats since they control the gavel in committees and have the votes to discharge the nomination from the committee and approve her to the commission if they are all on board.
Republicans have called for holding a new nomination hearing, although Sohn has already had two. ■
