Gomez Seen Likely Having Clear, Not Quick, Path to Senate Confirmation

FCC nominee Anna Gomez likely faces a relatively easy road to confirmation after avoiding any real trouble during her Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing last week (see 2306220067), industry officials and others told us. Gomez was careful throughout the panel, never committing outright to voting for reclassification of broadband as a Communications Act Title II service, while also stressing the importance of FCC oversight. Some observers questioned whether the Senate would be able to confirm any Democrat to the fifth FCC seat if the Gomez nomination fails.

Senate Commerce is also considering the renominations of sitting Commissioners Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr to new terms and the nomination of Fara Damelin as FCC inspector general. There’s been “some talk” within the Senate about moving forward on Carr and Starks as a package via unanimous consent separate from Gomez, said a communications sector lobbyist who follows Republican deliberations. Such a move is likely to get resistance from many Democratic caucus members because it removes perceived “leverage” to prevent Gomez’s confirmation process from stalling, lobbyists said.

Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., is likely to seek committee votes on Gomez and the other FCC nominees immediately after the chamber returns July 10 from a two-week recess, lobbyists said. Whether that happens will depend in part on whether Senate Commerce members are able to quickly reach a deal to move forward on an FAA reauthorization measure, after the committee had to postpone a June 15 markup amid an amendments snafu, lobbyists said.

Many observers view Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, I-Ariz., as a potential wild card in a panel vote on Gomez but believe it’s likelier than not Sinema will ultimately back the nominee. Sinema pressed Gomez during the hearing about Title II reclassification. Sinema audibly sighed when she didn’t get a commitment from Gomez that reviving the 2015 net neutrality rules was a nonstarter. Sinema may be hard-pressed to vote against a Latina nominee, industry officials said.

At least some Republicans are likely to vote for Gomez during a Senate Commerce executive session, though she’s unlikely to get “universal” support from party members, said a GOP-focused lobbyist. Some Senate Commerce Republican members’ aides have indicated behind the scenes they're satisfied with her responses and believe she’s a “known quantity,” the GOP lobbyist said. That “doesn’t mean she’s on the fast track” to confirmation, the official said.

Resistance will continue from Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, and others to advancing Gomez by unanimous consent, and getting her through on floor votes before the August recess remains “ambitious,” a telecom lobbyist said. Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., pressed Gomez on how she can complete her role at the upcoming World Radiocommunication Conference while also sitting on the FCC (see 2306010075). Gomez assured Blackburn contingency plans have been made if she's confirmed before the start of the WRC. Industry officials said Gomez continues to meet her responsibilities on behalf of the U.S. delegation to the conference, though she has been taking time to also meet with senators.

Timeline Questions

All the Democrats seemed “very supportive with the possible exception of Sinema, who appeared to want Gomez to say that the FCC should wait for Congress” to resolve net neutrality issues, said New Street’s Blair Levin, a former FCC chief of staff. “I would guess that Sinema ends up voting for Gomez but that to me is the only Democratic question mark on the committee.” He views Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., as a potential wild card once Gomez reaches the floor.

“It is not clear that any Democrat gets any Republican votes, but Gomez could pick up some, particularly if it is clear that she has the Democratic votes she needs,” Levin said. A bigger question is whether Republicans try to delay votes in the committee and full Senate.

Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler said he still expects Senate Republicans to try to hold onto the FCC’s 2-2 detente. "It seems to me that she did a good job acquitting herself,” he said of Gomez. “Now the question becomes what the Republicans will do to block there from being a full commission.”

Gomez “was responsive and forthright,” said Benton Institute for Broadband & Society Senior Counselor Andrew Schwartzman. “She demonstrated that she is fully qualified for” the job. “Ordinarily, I would say that is more than enough to assure confirmation,” he said: “The same can be said for” ex-nominee Gigi Sohn's testimony during a February confirmation hearing (see 2302140077) just weeks before she decided to withdraw.

Democratic staffers “were positive and optimistic” after the hearing, emailed Free Press Vice President-Policy Matt Wood. “If Republicans are really going to stonewall an eminently qualified nominee with 18 years in government service, but a wealth of private sector experience too, they may as well just say they no longer favor a functioning democracy.”

Gomez was “very tactful in her answers,” said Joe Kane, Information Technology and Innovation Foundation director-broadband and spectrum policy. “It also seemed as though Republicans were not very hostile to her, and there didn't” appear to be any “organized opposition at this point.”

The hearing and the response of Republicans “shows that it was never about Gigi and always about denying the FCC a third Democrat,” said Public Knowledge Senior Vice President Harold Feld. Gomez and Starks demonstrated “they are highly qualified and without any possible controversy beyond being Democrats who support the same priorities that all 51 other Democrats in the Senate have consistently supported.”

Feld hopes for quick votes in Senate Commerce and the full chamber. “It is time to stop pretending this about anything other than hyper-partisan efforts to prevent the FCC from doing its job under a Democratic president with a Democratic majority,” he said.

Gomez’s hearing went as expected, said University of Minnesota professor Christopher Terry. The questions and points Senate Commerce members raised were a “lobbyist playlist” unlikely to surprise the nominee. “Some people had to get their say in, and they got their say in,” he said: Since Gomez is seen as more moderate than Sohn, it will likely be harder to argue against her approval.