Reid 'Pretty Clear' on Why Rosenworcel Should Be Reconfirmed, Wheeler Says

Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev. The leaders had agreed then to reconfirm Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, a Republican, in exchange for timely advance of Rosenworcel, a Democrat, this Congress. “I think Senator Reid was pretty clear when he took to the floor a few weeks ago, saying that he thought he had an agreement with Leader McConnell that Commissioner O’Rielly’s reconfirmation moved because the Republicans agreed to move Commissioner Rosenworcel’s reconfirmation when she was through the process,” Wheeler told reporters Friday after the agency’s monthly meeting. “I refer you to Leader Reid as to what’s going on in the Senate.” Rosenworcel’s renomination hotline faces multiple GOP holds, with Wheeler’s lack of a commitment to step down at the end of the year seen as a major factor (see 1604210066). Wheeler generally has declined to commit when asked, including at the National Press Club last week (see 1606200036). Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., “and others have been constantly asking me will I step down,” Wheeler told the San Jose Mercury News earlier this month. “I think that every president has the right to select who he or she wants to have running the agency.” Wheeler said “sure,” it’s up to the next administration. “I keep saying to everybody, ‘We’re going to run through the tape.’ We’ve got a few months left here, and we will be churning hard on the last day. … So what am I going to do after this? I’m going to rent -- my plan is -- I’m going to rent an apartment in Rome and a Vespa for at least six weeks.” The stalled Rosenworcel reconfirmation has led to the stalling of bipartisan spectrum legislation, with Reid himself blocking the advance of the Commerce Committee’s Mobile Now bill due to the Rosenworcel holdup (see 1606080067).