The FCC confirmed Monday that former White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Legislative Affairs Director Narda Jones will be FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s new chief of staff, as expected (see 2203290064). Jones will be joined in Rosenworcel’s office by Meta’s Priscilla Delgado Argeris, who will be chief legal adviser. Jones is expected to start in mid-April, while Argeris joined the agency Monday. Jones will replace Rosenworcel’s acting Chief of Staff Travis Litman, who's leaving the agency, according to another release. “From the very beginning, Travis has provided sound counsel and leadership and we couldn’t have accomplished so much without his support, knowledge, and guidance,” said Rosenworcel. Jones’ “unique combination of skill, expertise, and record of service will be a major asset for my team and the agency as a whole,” said Rosenworcel in a release. Jones spent over a decade in senior positions in the Wireline and International bureaus and spent years working on Capitol Hill for Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and then as senior technology policy adviser for the Democratic staff for the Commerce Committee. Argeris was a legal adviser to Rosenworcel on wireline and wireless matters when she was still a commissioner, before leaving in 2015 to work for Meta on spectrum policy, the release said. Before joining the FCC in 2012, Argeris was an attorney at Wiley Rein. Litman worked in Rosenworcel’s office for seven years, including as chief of staff when she was a commissioner. He also worked in the Wireline Bureau and at Senate Commerce. The FCC and Litman didn’t comment on his next stop.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel joked about AT&T's sale of WarnerMedia and fellow commissioners, and briefly toured the agency's new headquarters during Monday's virtual FCBA Winter Celebration -- this year's iteration of the traditional Chairman's Dinner. The event was tied to Women's History Month, and had an array of female former commissioners in brief video addresses. There also was a montage of FCBA members holding up signs naming a woman who had been particularly inspirational to them, with answers ranging from Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg to elementary school teachers. It's no longer the Chairman's Dinner as "you can't serve dinner over Zoom," Rosenworcel said. "Ten is the new eight," Rosenworcel said as she showed the commissioners' office on the 10th floor of the L Street NE building. She quipped that the building is relatively lonely and staffers generally unpacked, but Commissioner Brendan Carr was seen moving furniture out of his office "after noticing some of it was made in China," and he had applied for "his own rip-and-replace grant." She joked that Comcast's David Cohen being named Canadian ambassador completed the player trade that brought Commissioner Nathan Simington. With AT&T now selling WarnerMedia, DOJ "should retroactively chalk this up as a win," she said. And she joked that some say SCOTUS Justice Stephen Breyer hung on too long before announcing his retirement, but "imagine if they knew about Dick Wiley," who co-founded Wiley in 1983.
FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appoints Wireline Bureau Chief Trent Harkrader, Public Safety Bureau Chief Debra Jordan and Media Bureau Chief Holly Saurer to the Senior Executive Service Performance Review Board … Wiley law firm announces Craig Sperling, ex-PBS, rejoins firm as partner-Telecom, Media and Technology Practice.
Russia's exclusion from ITU Standardization Sector working group chair or vice chair positions is widely seen as a sign of international outrage over Ukraine being felt within the U.N. body. Industry experts said Russia can still make member-state contributions but will be left out of leadership and setting the agenda for years to come.
Communications industry companies, law firms and government agencies are looking at returning to the office, with the COVID-19 omicron variant on the wane. The shift coincides with Washington, D.C., dropping its mask mandate and the White House urging companies and agencies to return to work. “COVID-19 no longer needs to dictate how we work,” said a White House COVID-19 Preparedness Plan released Wednesday.
The Florida House voted 103-8 to pass a comprehensive privacy bill Wednesday with a private right of action (PRA). HB-9 sponsor Rep. Fiona McFarland (R) “stood strong against an onslaught of special interest opposition to do what is right for the people of Florida,” said Speaker Chris Sprowls (R) at the livestreamed floor session. The House bill's fate is uncertain in the Senate, which opposed including a PRA in the privacy bill that passed the House last year.
Russia, under growing pressure internationally since its invasion of Ukraine, is also taking hits at the ITU. Industry officials said it's not a sure thing, but U.S. candidate Doreen Bogdan-Martin’s chances of being elected ITU secretary-general are likely enhanced because her opponent is Russian nominee Rashid Ismailov (see 2201310055). Gerald Gross was the last American to hold that job, from 1960 to 1965. Bogdan-Martin would be first woman to be elected to the top spot at the ITU.
American Doreen Bogdan-Martin likely faces a tough election to become ITU secretary-general, facing a formidable challenger in Russian nominee Rashid Ismailov, a former Russian deputy telecommunications minister and former Huawei executive. ITU watchers told us Bogdan-Martin is in a strong position and has been consolidating support from around the world, but Ismailov is also mounting a robust campaign. Gerald Gross was the last American to hold that job, from 1960 to 1965. Bogdan-Martin would be first woman to be elected to the top spot at the ITU.
WilmerHale adds former FTC officials Jennifer Milici, ex-Competition Bureau, and Dominic Vote, ex-Mergers II Division, as partners, Antitrust Group; Milici also joins the Trial Practice; both "anticipate officially beginning at the firm in March" ... SoftBank Group announces Chief Operating Officer Marcelo Claure departs the company “by mutual agreement,” and moves Michel Combes to replace him as CEO, SoftBank Group International.
California’s net neutrality law survived an appeal by ISP associations at the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. The panel’s Friday opinion that the FCC can’t preempt states after giving up its own broadband authority could affect ISP challenges of Vermont net neutrality and New York state affordable broadband laws, said legal experts.