Pai FCC GOP Called Unusually Cohesive—Republicans Vote Together on Almost All Items

Other chairmen have faced a much tougher time from within their party. Democrat Reed Hundt faced pushback from conservative Democrat James Quello. Chairman Michael Powell had numerous disagreements with Commissioner Kevin Martin, who led an insurrection in 2003 and joined with Democrats in a 3-2 vote on the treatment of unbundled network elements. Martin as chairman sometimes parted ways with fellow Republican Robert McDowell.

Our research found that 13 percent of all commission-level items under Pai were adopted on party-line votes. Eighty-seven percent have been OK'd on unanimous or at least bipartisan votes, with at least one Democrat approving in full.

Democratic Chairman Julius Genachowski was at times out of step with fellow Democrats Michael Copps and Mignon Clyburn. Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel was often an independent voice who blocked or slowed Wheeler’s push on such issues as set-top boxes, the 2014 version of proposed net neutrality rules and a proposal to allow wireless calls on commercial flights.

“Commissioners in the majority have been remarkably cohesive,” said McDowell, now at Cooley. “Rarely do you see an FCC that has three commissioners who are so philosophically aligned. Although they have some minor differences around the edges, and contrasts in style, their guiding principles are fundamentally the same.”

As the FCC has become more partisan, “the Republicans have figured out a way to get their three votes in alignment on important issues,” said Gigi Sohn, ex-aide to then-Chairman Tom Wheeler. “The Republicans have prioritized minimizing dissent and they’ve picked commissioners who are … particularly for the most important votes, like-minded.” Sohn questioned whether partial dissents are even “meaningful.” The agency didn't comment.

Pai's 'Rigidity'

Republicans acting in lockstep worry some critics and others.

“What sets the Pai majority apart is its utter ideological rigidity," said Copps, now at Common Cause. "I have not seen or read about any previous commission so in thrall to the ideas of doctrinaire economists and political theorists. Hence the unprecedented unanimity of the majority.”

“There’s no doubt the GOP majority has a high degree of philosophical convergence,” said Michael Calabrese, director of the Wireless Future Program at New America. "There could be negative implications to the unusual degree to which Chairman Pai seems to be deputizing individual commissioners to shape and recommend policy on certain issues." O’Rielly “ran his own highly contentious process to reconsider the FCC’s 2016 rules on [citizens broadband radio service] license terms” (see 1808310026">1808310026), Calabrese said. “Carr has become the go-to guy on streamlining 5G siting and infrastructure. There are efficiency advantages, but in an independent regulatory agency, I worry about a tendency toward logrolling instead of each member making an individual assessment of what’s in the public interest.”

The current pattern of party-line votes “is unusual for a Republican-led FCC,” said Mark Jamison, University of Florida telecom professor and member of the Trump FCC transition landing team. Since the Clinton administration, “only 4 percent of Republican-led FCC votes have been along party lines,” Jamison said. “Maybe the partisan divide is a holdover from the previous chairman. Prior to Wheeler, Democrat-led FCC’s had party-line votes only 8 percent of the time on major decisions. The number was 26 percent during Wheeler’s chairmanship. Divides take time to heal.” Wheeler didn't comment.

Brent Skorup of the Mercatus Center said, based on his interactions with the current GOP commissioners and their staff, “each commissioner shares a strong belief that competition often disciplines markets better than regulation. There also seems to be consensus that the commission under the previous administration often prioritized the wrong issues.”

Rising Partisanship

Many have observed in recent years that as partisan divides increase in Washington, so too do FCC party-line splits.

Until recently, “nearly all” of the FCC’s votes were unanimous and until the mid-1950s, the FCC and other independent commissions were neither Republican nor Democrat, said Georgetown Center for Business and Public Policy Project Director Larry Downes: “Times change." The industries the FCC regulates “or comes close to -- the internet ecosystem broadly -- have become much more central to the economic health and global competitiveness of the U.S.,” he said. “With more at stake, it’s unfortunate but perhaps not surprising that the commission’s work gets closer scrutiny, and that the commissioners are subjected to more outside pressure from Congress, interest groups and consumers.”

Part of the change is also due to personalities, Downes said. “Some of the most recent chairmen of both parties have come in with a much more imperious attitude toward the commission, perhaps encouraged to do so by the White House and/or congressional leaders.”

Pai deserves credit for not “as some previous chairmen have done trying to railroad his colleagues, but rather soliciting input from them and adjusting his proposals to reflect their input,” said Geoffrey Manne, president of the International Center for Law & Economics. Carr and O’Rielly aren’t “just toeing the line,” he said. “It’s that they are influencing the line before it is drawn and thus more than willing to join with the chairman when proposals are put forward that reflect their influence.”

FCC Likened to UN

Ex-officials said it's not that unusual for commissioners of the same party to stick together. They said, though, that the cohesiveness of this particular group is a sign of these more partisan times, as well as of Pai’s ability to work with colleagues.

“Chairman Pai’s record is remarkable,” said former Chairman Mark Fowler, who called being the chair a very difficult job. “Unlike commissioners, he has to always be collegial, never lose his temper, suck up to journalists, and defend his colleagues.” There's always pressure on commissioners to dissent from items because it attracts attention and makes a splash, Fowler said. “It’s like the UN Security Council.”

When she was in the FCC majority, Clyburn also tried to vote with the other Democrats, she recalled. “I didn’t agree with every footnote or every line in every decision.” She said she voted with the majority if she could get “75 percent of the way there.” It’s easier for commissioners in the majority to dissent when they know it won’t block the item the chairman is trying to get through, Clyburn said. Blocking a chairman is a more drastic step, but a dissent that doesn’t come with that consequence can allow a commissioner more freedom to express his or her views, she said.

Industry officials suggested a more cohesive FCC majority is a sign of increased tribalism in politics. Clyburn believes it’s not just that officials are cleaving to their parties, but are increasingly defining themselves by individual issues on which they refuse to compromise. On the FCC, “you like to think you’re insulated from that,” she said, conceding that may not always be true. More partisanship is now reflected in most federal agencies, said Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council Senior Adviser David Honig.

It’s difficult to compare the current majority with past ones because they had different matters before them, said Honig: “You have to keep in mind the type and magnitude of the issues they’re voting on.” Georgetown Law Institute for Public Representation Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman isn't sure they are comparable at all: “I don’t think it’s possible to draw any substantive conclusion from comparing FCC majority votes.”

Editor's note: This is Part II of a two-part series on votes at the FCC under Chairman Pai. Part I focused on areas of differences between Republicans at the agency under him: 1808300020.