FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel appears intent on closing several outstanding wireless issues in her final weeks at the helm, but industry experts said it appears unlikely she will tackle controversial items or launch anything. That approach differs from the way former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai conducted business at the end of the first Donald Trump presidency.

CTIA announced Thursday that President-CEO Meredith Baker will step down next year, with the expiration of her contract. Former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, a partner at private-equity firm Searchlight Capital, is among the early rumored candidates to succeed her. Speculation has also surrounded Brad Gillen, a CTIA executive vice president who joined the group 10 years ago and also worked for Baker when she was an FCC commissioner. Pai declined comment Thursday.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision doing away with Chevron deference won’t grind the next FCC to a halt but could prompt congressional action on the USF, former FCC officials said during panel discussions Thursday at Broadband Breakfast’s "Broadband in the Trump Administration" event.

NTIA Administrator Alan Davidson said during a Thursday Broadband Breakfast event he intends to resign Jan. 20, declaring the day President-elect Donald Trump is set to return to office as the end of his leadership of the agency. FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans on leaving the same day (see 2411210028). Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., and some other event participants predicted potential changes in NTIA’s $42.5 billion BEAD program once Republicans have unified control of government upon Trump’s inauguration, but suggested it’s less clear how spectrum policymaking may change next year.

Judges appeared to differ Thursday as the 6th U.S. Circuit Appeals Court heard an ISP petition to overturn the FCC’s controversial data breach notification rules, which commissioners approved 3-2 a year ago (see 2312220054). Commissioners Brendan Carr and Nathan Simington dissented (see 2312130019). In 2017, a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval rescinded similar regulations that were part of the commission's 2016 ISP privacy order (see 2312200001).

Communications Daily is tracking the lawsuits below involving appeals of FCC actions. New cases since the last update are marked with a *.

FCC commissioners unanimously approved an order Wednesday amending the commission's letter of credit (LOC) rules for providers receiving high-cost USF support, moving away from reliance on the Weiss rating system. The order affects participants in the Connect America Fund Phase II and Rural Digital Opportunity Fund programs and those receiving support for Puerto Rico and U.S. Virgin Islands. The order saw tweaks at the request of Commissioner Anna Gomez, officials said.

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, during a Wednesday Communications Subcommittee hearing criticized FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s draft declaratory ruling last week finding that Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act Section (CALEA) Section 105 requires telecom carriers to secure their networks against cyberattacks (see 2412050044). Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, President-elect Donald Trump’s pick to become chairman Jan. 20, told reporters Wednesday he believes the commission’s response to the Salt Typhoon Chinese government-affiliated effort at hacking U.S. telecom networks (see 2411190073) should focus on continuing to “closely” coordinate with other federal cyber-related agencies and identify vulnerabilities to the private sector.

Communications industry lobbyists told us they expect President-elect Donald Trump to soon follow his pair of Tuesday night FTC selections (see 2412100073) with a nominee for the FCC seat Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel plans to vacate Jan. 20. The lobbyists mentioned Arielle Roth, telecom policy director for Senate Commerce ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, as the apparent front-runner for the nomination, though the Trump team hasn’t yet made a final decision. Trump said Tuesday he’s picking Republican FTC Commissioner Andrew Ferguson as permanent chair of the commission and will nominate Mark Meador, a former antitrust staffer for Senate Antitrust Subcommittee ranking member Mike Lee, R-Utah., to the commission seat that Chair Lina Khan currently holds.

FCC commissioners, as expected, approved unanimously (see 2412090047) an order that expands the parts of the 6 GHz band where new very-low-power (VLP) devices are permitted to operate without coordination. In addition, commissioners Wednesday approved 5-0 an NPRM proposing updates for broadcast radio and TV rules. The open meeting was the penultimate with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel at the helm.