Schumer Backing FCC Enforcement Bureau Assistant Chief Starks for Clyburn's Seat
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., picked FCC Enforcement Bureau Assistant Chief Geoffrey Starks as his recommended candidate to replace Commissioner Mignon Clyburn upon her expected departure from the commission, multiple sources familiar with the situation told us. Schumer's office didn't comment Friday, but he may publicly recommend Starks for Clyburn's seat in the near future, two communications sector lobbyists said. Schumer's decision came a month after Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Bill Nelson, D-Fla., publicly backed John Branscome, committee chief Democratic telecom counsel, to succeed Clyburn (see 1802070047).
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Starks “seems like he is chosen” to take over from Clyburn, said Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman. Schumer selected Starks with the apparent backing of the Congressional Black Caucus, lobbyists and other sources said. The CBC “knew who they wanted” and from “Schumer's standpoint why not try to be supportive of this constituency,” particularly as Capitol Hill moves closer to the midterm election campaign, one lobbyist said. A trio of CBC members -- Reps. G.K. Butterfield, D-N.C., Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y., and Bobby Rush, D-Ill. -- backed Starks in a Wednesday letter to Schumer. The CBC didn't comment. A Starks FCC nomination also received backing in late February from the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies.
Starks has a “solid resume for the job” because of his diverse background, a telecom lobbyist said. Starks came to the FCC from DOJ, where he was a senior counsel to the deputy attorney general's office. He was previously a trial lawyer at Williams & Connolly, an aide to the Illinois state Senate Local Government & Elections Committee and an investment analyst at Goldman Sachs. “This was an opportunity to put someone in as an FCC commissioner who has a broader range of experiences,” one lobbyist said. “That may add up” as a benefit for the commission. Chairman Ajit Pai and Commissioners Brendan Carr and Jessica Rosenworcel have gained most of their experience at the FCC, and Commissioner Michael O'Rielly came to the commissioner after years as a Hill aide.
Starks “looks like a solid candidate and he has the experience at the FCC, the Ivy League academic credentials and the apparent backing of the [CBC] and, most importantly, Chuck Schumer,” said Francisco Montero, managing partner at Fletcher Heald. “I don't hear anyone calling this an African-American seat, but it does send out a nod to this important constituency for the Democratic Party on the eve of the midterms. It looks pretty solid to me.” Starks is “Schumer’s candidate, a minority and has no controversial public profile, so conventional wisdom is that he will be easy to confirm,” said a public interest group official, who acknowledged little is known on Starks’ stance on most issues.
Nelson is unlikely to publicly fight Schumer on the pick or seek to send an opposing recommendation of Branscome on to President Donald Trump, two lobbyists told us. Nelson “has his re-election campaign to consider,” one lobbyist said. “You can't break with leadership on a nominee recommendation in your re-election year,” especially given perceptions that Nelson will face a tough race for a fourth term if Florida Gov. Rick Scott (R) chooses to run for the seat, another lobbyist said. Nelson's office didn't comment.
Clyburn's office didn't comment on when or if she intends to leave, though sources have expected she would announce her intention to depart soon (see 1801050041). If not replaced, Clyburn could serve until the current Congress adjourns sine die before she has to leave under her current term. Clyburn likely wants Trump to formally nominate her replacement and Senate leaders to set up a confirmation process schedule before she formally announces her departure plans, two lobbyists told us. “The minute she leaves the FCC goes to a 3-1 Republican majority,” so she and other Democrats will want guarantees that Senate leaders won't try to hold up her replacement, one lobbyist said. The Democrats have “got some leverage” because they've pushed for the Senate to pair up FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr's confirmation to a new five-year term with the Clyburn successor's confirmation, but even in that situation “there's no real hustle needed.”
“Whoever the nominee ends up being, he or she will not be paired with another FCC nominee of the opposite party,” said former Commissioner Robert McDowell, now at Cooley. “I was not paired in 2006. This posture could mean that the nominee is susceptible to having a hold placed on their nomination for a variety of reasons, related or unrelated to their candidacy.” But FCC nominees ultimately “get confirmed, even if it takes more time than conventional wisdom would predict,” McDowell said.