A White House OMB spokesperson confirmed Wednesday that President Donald Trump will send Congress a promised $9.4 billion rescissions package next week, seeking to claw back about $1.1 billion in advance CPB funding (see 2504150052). Since January, congressional Republicans have shown growing interest in ending federal funding for public broadcasters amid rancor over what they say is pro-Democratic bias in news coverage (see 2502030064). NPR sued the Trump administration Tuesday in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to block a White House executive order cutting funding for NPR and PBS (see 2505270047).
A journalist and public interest group have sued the FCC in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia to compel the agency to release records related to the Department of Government Efficiency. Nina Burleigh, a contributor to The New Republic and The New York Times, and Frequency Forward jointly asked the court to require the FCC to respond to a Freedom of Information Act request for records on DOGE’s activities at the agency. The FCC hasn’t answered the March 4 request, the complaint said, even though a response was due March 24. DOGE’s efforts could create a conflict of interest because FCC regulatee Starlink and DOGE are controlled by SpaceX CEO Elon Musk, the complaint said. Starlink has requested Rural Digital Opportunity Fund dollars, and information accessed by DOGE could give Musk an unfair advantage, it said. “No apparent effort has been made to segregate Musk from the FCC’s decision-making process.” Frequency Forward is a newly created group based out of the office of Smithwick & Belendiuk, which is representing the group in both the FOIA matter and a recent petition against Sinclair (see 2504150056).
The FCC unanimously approved NPRMs on robocalls, satellite spectrum sharing and updated foreign-ownership rules at its April meeting Monday. The agency also unanimously approved an order on creating a licensing framework for the 37 GHz band (see 2504280032).
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit heard oral argument Wednesday on the National Treasury Employees Union’s pursuit of an emergency stay of President Donald Trump's executive order slashing staff at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. The challenge is one of several that NTEU, which represents FCC employees, has against recent efforts by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) and the Trump administration (see 2503310047).
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Thursday that staffing changes are coming to the FCC and that Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency is likely headed to the agency. Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez warned about the Donald Trump administration’s continuing moves against the federal workforce. Commissioners agreed on three wireless items (see 2502270042) and Calm Act rules at the meeting, as well as taking additional steps on robocalls.
The outlook is uncertain about whether President Donald Trump will attempt to fire Democratic members of the FCC, as the administration asserts its authority over “so-called independent” agencies (see 2502190073). It’s unclear whether the FCC and its Democratic members, Anna Gomez and Geoffrey Starks, are in Trump’s sights, but no one is taking anything for granted from the current administration, industry experts said. Gomez is emerging as the more outspoken critic of the regime under Chairman Brendan Carr, especially on media items (see 2502200023).
Like staff at nearly every agency in Washington, FCC employees seem nervously waiting for the next moves of the Donald Trump administration and Elon Musk, even as they hunker down and continue doing their jobs, industry sources tell us. The FCC also appears to have taken further steps to comply with the White House’s executive order banning diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) efforts after an initial wave of announcements immediately after Chairman Brendan Carr took office.
President Donald Trump signed a host of executive orders Monday that could affect FCC policy going forward and have already led newly minted FCC Chairman Brendan Carr to scrub the agency’s processes of references to diversity, equity and inclusion and scrap the FCC’s diversity committee. The executive orders include a pause on the TikTok divestiture rule, a freeze on new regulations, a return of the Schedule F rule making it easier to replace federal workers with political appointees, and policies requiring information sharing with the new Department of Government Efficiency. Another order issued Monday officially designated Carr as chairman.
FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr answered press questions about TikTok and the Department of Government Efficiency after Wednesday’s FCC open meeting (see 2412110040). Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel didn’t hold a news conference Wednesday due to a scheduling conflict. Carr said that Congress offered TikTok “many paths forward that don’t require the app to be shut down” in legislation that requires it change owners or cease operating in the U.S. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit recently ruled against the company’s challenge of that law. “At this point I’m letting that process run out,” Carr said. In addition, Carr said he hasn’t had discussions with representatives of the planned Department of Government Efficiency about possible FCC cuts, but he anticipates doing so next year. There are "lots of opportunities ... [for] synergies at the FCC, even operating on our own if DOGE was never or is never set up, to look to push for greater efficiency.” For example, he said the FCC could seek more efficiency in permitting. Spending money on broadband projects but not easing the permitting process is “stepping on the gas and the brakes at the same time,” Carr said. He also discussed the Salt Typhoon hack, saying “we never should have been in this situation where these networks are compromised at this level” (see 2412110067).
Communications industry executives and former federal officials said during a Practising Law Institute event Tuesday they see a likely GOP-led budget reconciliation package next year as a potential vehicle for legislation that would reinstate the FCC’s lapsed spectrum auction authority. House Commerce Committee leaders and Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., have repeatedly attempted to reinstate the authority during this Congress only to have their efforts stall (see 2409170066).