Schumer, Reid Unite to Press Obama to Make 2017 Rosenworcel Renomination

The Senate failed to reconfirm Rosenworcel before leaving Washington last weekend and she will have to leave by Jan. 3. Reid and Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., unsuccessfully tried to negotiate a deal this month that would have included Rosenworcel and a commitment from Wheeler to step down. Wheeler said Thursday he's leaving on Inauguration Day (see 1612120058). The offices of Nelson and Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M., told us Monday they want a Rosenworcel renomination next year.

“I urge President [Barack] Obama to renominate [Rosenworcel] when the 115th Congress begins,” Reid said in a statement Thursday. “For far too long, Commissioner Rosenworcel’s nomination has been held hostage to partisan games. Chairman Wheeler has made clear to me that he will step down before January 20th if Commissioner Rosenworcel is confirmed. There is now no reasonable excuse for Republicans’ inaction. Senator McConnell and Senator [John] Thune have personally committed to confirming Commissioner Rosenworcel, and they should honor that commitment as soon as possible next Congress.”

"Sen. Schumer believes Commissioner Rosenworcel has been doing a great job, deserved to be reconfirmed and it's a real shame she wasn't," his spokesman told us. "He hopes the President renominates her on January 3, and that Leader McConnell does the right thing and gives her a vote."

McConnell and Reid originally negotiated in 2014 on a deal addressing Rosenworcel and Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, who was reconfirmed last Congress. Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., cleared her renomination from committee unanimously in December 2015 but said he wasn't part of the original deal. His spokesman declined comment on Reid’s statement. Commissioner Ajit Pai's term expired last summer, and his renomination was another possible inclusion for the unsuccessful Senate deal under negotiation this month. Thune recently told us he would promptly process Pai in 2017 if he's renominated then.

Obama would have a window of time to renominate Rosenworcel, if he desired. The new Congress will be in session starting Jan. 3, and President-elect Donald Trump won't be sworn in until Jan. 20. The positions of Democratic leader and top Commerce Committee Democrat traditionally have carried influence over the choice of Democratic FCC commissioner spots. Reid is retiring this Congress, and Schumer will take over as minority leader next Congress. Schumer has shown awareness of the Rosenworcel situation and tracked leadership negotiations this month (see 1612060055). A McConnell spokesman declined comment on Reid’s statement.

Several have wondered about Rosenworcel’s interest in returning and suspected she has job offers waiting should she choose them. Her office didn’t comment on desired next steps.

“The Nelson and Reid statements suggest Commissioner Rosenworcel may be interested in a new term,” said Cowen and Co. analyst Paul Gallant. “It wouldn't that surprising. It's a great job whether majority or minority. But the politics of appointments like these are awfully hard to predict.”

“Chairman Wheeler's resignation opens a tiny opening for the reconfirmation of Commissioner Rosenworcel, especially paired with a new Republican FCC commissioner,” said Recon Analytics analyst Roger Entner. “The whole question is when and if Commissioner Rosenworcel is willing to wait around that long. There are certainly plenty of outside opportunities for a commissioner with a track record like hers.”

Former Commissioner Michael Copps, now with Common Cause, called the failure to reconfirm Rosenworcel a “travesty of partisan politics” and praised her knowledge of communications issues. She should be renominated to the commission, he said in an interview Thursday.

“They shouldn't pair her confirmation with another GOP nominee,” New America Open Technology Institute policy counsel Josh Stager cautioned. “That one-for-one deal already happened, and that is why Commissioner O'Rielly is sitting on the FCC today. If she's renominated, the Senate should confirm her in a stand-alone vote and make good on a long overdue promise. The next Republican nominee to the FCC can be paired with a different Democratic nominee -- perhaps an FTC commissioner like Terrell McSweeney.”

It’s unknown what Trump actually wants “or whether he will stick to the convention of allowing the Dems to select their seat on the Commission,” emailed Business in the Public Interest Chairman Adonis Hoffman, whose firm consults on communications-related issues. “I would not be surprised at all to see a very conservative Democrat get the nomination for the Rosenworcel seat, which would be tantamount to a 4-1 Republican FCC. With the Trump mandate and the way the transition is proceeding, we should expect a curve ball. If so, Ms. Rosenworcel may not even get the opportunity to serve again.” But he said there’s “no one more qualified” than she is and lauded her “encyclopedic command of communications policy and a firm commitment to public service,” without any legitimate reason beyond politics not to advance her. “But don't cry for Jessica,” Hoffman added. “Given her talent, experience and expertise, she would be a great asset for a number of technology companies and should have many options.”

During Thursday's commission meeting, Rosenworcel said serving at the FCC had been a privilege and “a wild ride.” The agency does best when it increases the number of people and places that are “connected,” Rosenworcel said. She said she would speak with “more substance” at a later place and time. Pai praised her dedication, and Commissioner Mignon Clyburn said Rosenworcel is a “champion for hard working Americans.” O’Rielly and Clyburn both made references to Rosenworcel continuing to work on FCC items, nods to her possibly being renominated.

Asked about Rosenworcel’s confirmation woes, Wheeler said he has always said he would abide by the wishes of the incoming administration’s transition team and adhere to tradition by stepping down. Wheeler called Rosenworcel the FCC’s “intellectual lodestone” at Thursday’s meeting.

The White House and Trump transition team didn’t comment on the possibility of a Rosenworcel renomination next year. Trump “will have the opportunity to choose someone that shares his view of these issues,” White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest said of Wheeler’s departure. “Maybe the president-elect was meeting with one of them yesterday when he sat down with tech executives from all over the country.”