Obama Administration Eager to Name Copps’ Replacement

Many candidates seem to be under consideration. Jessica Rosenworcel, an aide to Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., and a former Copps adviser, could well be Rockefeller’s choice -- though commissioners rarely come directly from the Senate staff, industry sources said. Bruce Gottlieb, another former Copps adviser and now a senior aide to FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, is close to the chairman and could get a push from him for the job. Paul Margie of Wiltshire Grannis has worked for both Rockefeller and Copps. He was mentioned by several people as a likely candidate. Margie served the administration recently as co- chairman of the 2011 World Radio Conference Advisory Committee. The FCC’s broadband plan coordinator, Blair Levin, also is widely mentioned as a candidate. Some mention Scott Harris, a former industry attorney and commission official who’s the Department of Energy’s general counsel. But choices for the commission have often been surprises.

Several dynamics are at play, sources said. How much the Senate will assert itself is unclear, industry and FCC sources said. “I think Copps probably wants to stay,” said a Democrat who’s a former Senate aide. “But the White House has got a long list of people who want to be there. … These things are always very complex. You're a year into the new administration. The first year the White House pretty much gets a honeymoon. The Senate typically defers to who they want to pick for the first round in filling their key spots. After the first year or so the Senate begins to assert itself more. I would look to see Rockefeller playing a big role.”

Senate Democrats probably will be eager to fill positions before the November election, when they could lose their dominant position in the body. But Senate Republicans may be reluctant to approve a Democrat to the FCC unless paired with a Republican, especially with Republican Commissioner Meredith Baker’s term set to expire in June 2011.

“It is a new administration,” said a former FCC official. “Copps did a very good job, but each administration wants to have its own people approved. There are a number of people who worked hard to elect Obama and are also well qualified to serve. I would expect this administration would make a change. … It’s not a verdict or a judgment of Copps. It’s simply politics.”

“Unless you're in the room, it’s hard to tell what’s really in play,” said analyst Jeff Silva of Medley Global Advisors. “On the other hand, it would not surprise me if speculation about a move this summer by Commissioner Copps proves correct. It is understandable the Obama administration would want to put another of its own in place at the FCC. That’s what new administrations do.”

Many in the industry expect Copps to retire once his term expires, said President Curt Stamp of the Independent Telephone & Telecommunications Alliance. Copps could stay on until the end of Congress if a replacement isn’t immediately found, but the timing is up to the president, Stamp said. The White House could give Copps “deference” so he can finish the media ownership review, he said.

“If you were to ask Copps or his staff, they probably would say he will leave, but I believe he wants to stay,” said General Counsel Brad Ramsay of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. Copps likely would have no problem staying on if he wants, Ramsay said. Copps is a well-liked Democratic spokesman with many friends on the Hill, and the Obama administration seems to have great respect for him, Ramsay said. NARUC has a good relationship with Copps and hopes he'll stay, he said.

Free State Foundation President Randolph May said he hopes for a change in approach when Copps departs. “If Commissioner Copps is replaced, I'd like to see his seat filled by someone who has some actual close-up experience with what’s happening in the communications marketplace,” May said. “I don’t think serving on the Hill as a staff person generally gives you a real appreciation of market dynamics. And I'd like to see a replacement with much more sensitivity to the costs imposed by regulation.”

“Copps has been concerned that after he’s gone there’s going to be nobody there to carry the banner of media,” said Legal Director Harold Feld of Public Knowledge. “There are both traditional constituencies that are going to want to have their people” at the FCC “and then there will be some new constituencies as well.” With net neutrality a huge issue, both Hollywood and the high-technology industry will press for someone sensitive to their own interests on the commission, he said.

Copps’ replacement probably will have views like his, so a change wouldn’t affect the outcomes of the 2010 media ownership review and the localism proceeding, said broadcast lawyer Henry Rivera of Wiley Rein, a Democratic commissioner in the 1980s. But “it might impact the timing because Copps would be pushing for a more swift resolution … as opposed to a new person,” he said.

Copps has been pushing to wrap up the localism proceeding before the media ownership review is completed, and he wants both ended soon, said a commission official. Genachowski still seems to want to complete the ownership review this year, but not as soon as Copps seems to want, commission officials said. Copps probably won’t leave before a vote is held on those subjects, another commission official said. “He does have a big interest, it appears, in the quadrennial review and in the localism proceeding, so he’s likely to want to stay until that all gets resolved,” Rivera said.

President Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project said he wouldn’t be surprised if Copps stays beyond the end of his term or asks for one. Rivera and Schwartzman said they haven’t discussed the matter with Copps. “Even if the White House were to nominate somebody to replace Commissioner Copps, given the lack of bipartisanship in the Senate right now, it is by no means clear that any nomination would be acted upon during calendar year 2010,” Schwartzman said.