Our previous article pointed out Wheeler’s bad behavior and his likelihood of staying on the FCC, but the primary point is that a Rosenworcel re-nomination deadlocks the FCC and delays forward progress.
Without Rosenworcel’s re-nomination there is still hope for a 1-2 FCC.
Chairman Wheeler does not get to negotiate with Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over who will be on the FCC. Playing into Wheeler’s game where he will step down “if it helps Rosenworcel get renominated” means Wheeler is still deciding the outcome.
If commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel is re-nominated and confirmed before president-elect Trump takes office the FCC will definitely sit at a 2-2 dead lock. This split slows down the ability of the new Commission to pursue its deregulatory vision.
This is a real midnight move to control the Internet. If Rosenworcel is re-nominated, the best Trump and the Republicans can hope for is a 2-2 FCC. The worst is a 3-2 democrat controlled FCC.
A Republican majority FCC is still possible sooner rather than later as long as Rosenworcel is not re-nominated.
If Rosenworcel returns to the Commission now, the next most likely scenario is that the new Republican nominated to the FCC will be held up until July when Commissioner MignonClyburn’s term ends.
If Republicans don’t nominate their new pick as a pair, it will be easy for the “clicktivist” left to turn the nomination into a circus. The next nominee will be framed as the decider of the future of the Internet.
Majority Leader Mitch McConnell cannot let this go through. This is no time to be negotiating with Harry Reid and Obama as they walk out the door.
No midnight nominations.
President Trump should have both a Democrat and a Republican spot open for nominations when he takes office.