Rosenworcel Faces Eventual Senate Hearing in Reconfirmation Process

The administration announced its intent to renominate Rosenworcel in a message Wednesday. A Senate aide told us Thursday that the Senate hadn't received the formal paperwork renominating Rosenworcel. The Senate aide also said Rosenworcel can expect a fair and open confirmation process that will include a Senate Commerce Committee hearing. Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., would have a key role in advancing Rosenworcel.

“Sure, sure, of course,” affirmed Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., predicting a generally smooth reconfirmation process and expressing his support and delight at the news. Nelson telecom aide Clint Odom was an FCC staffer for Rosenworcel until December. Rosenworcel herself was a Democratic Senate Commerce Committee staffer before becoming commissioner. She worked for former Commerce Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., who retired at the end of the last Congress. Nelson has “been supportive of her in the past,” his spokesman confirmed.

Rumors abounded earlier this year that Rosenworcel may want to leave the FCC, rumors in part sparked by the departures of Odom and David Goldman, another aide who now works for House Commerce Committee ranking member Frank Pallone, D-N.J. But her office has denied those rumors (see 1504070049). “I am honored that the President has indicated his intent to nominate me for a new term,” Rosenworcel said in a statement. “During my tenure at the agency it has been a tremendous privilege to work with my colleagues, the talented staff of the Commission, and the American people to develop policies that expand access to modern communications and the opportunities of the digital age.” All four other commissioners issued statements praising the news.

“I don't think it would be smart for Senator Thune to slow-walk her nomination given his ongoing efforts to draw Democratic support for net neutrality legislation,” said New America's Open Technology Institute Policy Counsel Josh Stager, a former Democratic Senate staffer. “That said, any senator could put a hold on her nomination later in the process. The hold could be a symbolic protest over net neutrality, which might appeal to some members. I can't venture a guess on the timeline for any Senate confirmation these days. The fact that Loretta Lynch took more than five months underscores just how unpredictable the environment is.” Lynch, nominated in November, was confirmed in April as attorney general.

A different ex-Senate staffer who follows telecom closely sees the White House endorsement as indicative of support from Nelson and a likely indication that Rosenworcel could become FCC chairwoman if Hillary Clinton wins the White House in 2016. The speediness depends on Rosenworcel’s likely pairing with a GOP nominee also going through the Senate confirmation process, he said. Rosenworcel and FCC Commissioner Ajit Pai, a Republican, were paired nominees before the Senate in 2012. Given the timeline of when she has to leave her position, the Republicans could sit on her renomination until next year, that ex-staffer speculated.

The last FCC commissioner to be reconfirmed wasn't paired with a nominee from the opposite party. The Senate, then controlled by Democrats, reconfirmed Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican, on the final day of the last session of Congress in December in a larger package of nominees (see 1412160048), which was also the case with Robert McDowell, a former Republican commissioner now with Wiley Rein. O’Rielly and Wheeler were originally paired as Senate nominees. The ex-Senate staffer speculated that any GOP judges nominated may prove to be good pairs.

“Getting a stand-alone FCC nominee confirmed will take some creativity,” Guggenheim Partners analyst Paul Gallant said. “But I don’t see much upside for Republicans to block her because she can stay until the end of 2016 no matter what. And she has a lot of goodwill in the Senate, so I think the right people will go to bat for her and get it done.”

Pai’s term is the next to expire, in June 2016, making him a possible eventual pairing for Rosenworcel again if the Senate doesn't act on her renomination with any haste. The next FCC commissioner’s term to expire is that of Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, in 2017, and then that of FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in 2018. No Republican FTC commissioner terms, also considered possible pairs for Democratic FCC nominees, will expire until 2018.

Industry welcomed the White House announcement. USTelecom President Walter McCormick lauded Rosenworcel 's "deep background in communications law and policy, extraordinary professional experience and a history of public service” and said she “has shown herself to be a responsible Commissioner dedicated to the public interest.” CTIA President Meredith Baker called Rosenworcel “a tireless advocate for the need for more spectrum to meet Americans’ mobile connected lives.” NAB President Gordon Smith dubbed Rosenworcel a proven “dedicated public servant and a leader in public safety, technology and consumer protection” with “fair treatment and open door policy toward broadcast-related issues,” strongly backing a swift confirmation, a sentiment also offered by Telecom Industry Association President Scott Belcher.

The renomination “means continued leadership on broadband, e-rate and consumer protection,” tweeted Michael Copps, a former Democratic FCC commissioner now with Common Cause. “She's a public interest treasure.” Rosenworcel’s expiring term has been filling out that of Copps. Gallant sees the White House message providing assurance to Rosenworcel. “I’m sure it will be a relief for her personally to have the security of an additional term,” he said. “And it can only enhance her effectiveness that people now fully expect her to be at the Commission for a long time.”