Wheeler Remarks No 'Definitive Statement' to Break Senate Logjam, Thune Says
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler showed possible willingness to step down at the end of the Obama administration, speaking Thursday during a Senate Commerce Committee oversight hearing. Some observers wondered if this may break loose a long-time logjam in the Senate. The chamber's Republicans for months sought a Wheeler commitment to step down, blocking the reconfirmation of Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel and spurring Democratic counter blocks on the floor of bipartisan telecom legislation coming out of the Commerce Committee.
Sign up for a free preview to unlock the rest of this article
Communications Daily is required reading for senior executives at top telecom corporations, law firms, lobbying organizations, associations and government agencies (including the FCC). Join them today!
Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., isn’t ready to say Wheeler’s remarks are a game-changing commitment. “He hasn’t made a really definitive, affirmative statement, but I think he’s hinting at that,” remarks that are “movement in the right direction,” Thune, who previously asked Wheeler about stepping down at the end of the administration, told reporters after the hearing. “I think we have to ask him for a more definitive statement -- he didn’t make that today.”
Wheeler delivered the relevant remarks at the start of his opening statement. “As a certain November event approaches and a new administration is on the horizon, this may be my last appearance before this committee,” Wheeler told senators. “I will cooperate fully with the new administration to ensure a smooth transition at the FCC.”
“There are lots of issues that get wrapped up in these nomination fights,” Thune said. “We’re seeing right now a lot of our bills being held up on the floor over this one. I don’t think this happens before Nov. 8, but I think when we get back in the lame duck, I hope that we can bust some things loose and perhaps one of those will be the nomination.” He defended his role as Commerce chairman in clearing Rosenworcel’s renomination. “It really becomes a leadership decision, and I think we have individual members who still have holds,” Thune said. A Wheeler commitment “would create a better environment,” Thune said. Wheeler and Thune met privately Tuesday (see 1609140063). Thune fears Wheeler would remain chairman into 2017, he said. Wheeler recently was seen as likely to remain as chairman as far as summer 2017 if Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton wins the White House (see 1608240057).
Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., took a direct role in blocking telecom legislation on account of the Rosenworcel matter. He placed a hold on the Commerce Committee’s Mobile Now spectrum bill. Thune has cited the FCC Reauthorization Act and the Improving Rural Call Quality and Reliability Act as other likely measures to face blocks on the floor for this reason. Thune complained of this during his opening statement: “Even here, the partisan toxicity of the Commission has reached across D.C. and infected our bipartisan work. For proof of this, one need look no further than at Senator Reid blocking the Senate’s telecom agenda while admitting that this Committee has done its work -- including reporting nominees -- in bipartisan fashion.”
Several Senate Democrats demanded Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., advance Rosenworcel’s renomination. Her term expired last year, and she will have to leave at the end of this Congress absent any action. Democrats cited a deal McConnell and Reid privately made last Congress to approve O’Rielly’s reconfirmation in exchange for timely approval of Rosenworcel’s this Congress. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, said the deal never involved any condition about Wheeler's departure (see 1605130057).
“Why do we still sit around and wait for the confirmation" of Rosenworcel? asked Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla. He cited a “direct agreement” between the Senate leaders and invoked what past Senate minority and majority leaders Everett Dirksen, R-Ill., and Mike Mansfield, D-Mont., would have thought.
Rosenworcel “was promised a vote” and needs that approval to avoid “that cloud that’s unnecessarily over her head,” said Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass. “We can do it immediately.” He suggested a unanimous consent approval on the chamber floor. “Congress must confirm Commissioner Rosenworcel,” said Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., touting her leadership on the homework gap and issues of public safety and spectrum. “She is a distinguished member of the FCC and her confirmation was part of an agreement that led to confirmation of Commissioner O’Rielly.”
Wheeler discussed her reconfirmation in his opening remarks, saying “how much I hope Commissioner Rosenworcel will be able to continue to serve on the FCC” and emphasizing his desire as chairman to keep counting on her insights.