Trump pulls Obamas final FCC nominee (remains 2 commissioners short)

The Verge

President Trump has pulled the Obama administration’s final FCC nominee, former commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel. The action suggests it’ll be even longer before the agency is restored to its typical five-leader status, and it opens up the possibility that Trump will break with long-running norms and stack the commission with conservatives.

The FCC is supposed to be led by five people: a chairperson and four commissioners, all nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate. Traditionally, the commission has sat two Republican and two Democratic commissioners, with the chair changing off as the presidency changes hands.

Federal law prevents more than three members of the commission from being among the same party, so a president can’t fill the agency with five party-line leaders. A president could, however, find some ideologically similar independents and nominate them — though they’d have to be approved by the Senate.