FCC Has No Quorum as FCC’s Simington Resigns

Last Friday, FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington resigned and left the FCC.  While his departure was expected at some point, this was unexpected.  His replacement will be his newly appointed Chief of Staff, Gavin Wax.  Gavin is also head of the New York Young Republicans.  

The move leaves the FCC with only two members, Chairman Brendan Carr, a Republican, and Commissioner Anna Gomez, a Democrat.  Commissioner Geoffrey Starks left the FCC as well.

More importantly, you need three commissioners to make a quorum.  As a result, the FCC cannot make any new policy decisions, e.g., relaxing broadcast ownership rules.  He will be able to conduct routine business that may include waivers.  For example, the Media Bureau just approved a waiver of the local TV ownership rules.  But the rulemaking authority on any controversial item is limited.  Also, Commissioner Gomez has been critical of Chairman Carr’s agenda.

The FCC will not be able to move forward until FCC nominee Olivia Trusty is confirmed by the full Senate.  She has already been confirmed by the Senate Commerce Committee.  However, Democrats may try to delay a vote on her confirmation to prevent a quorum.  Democrats have been very critical of Chairman Carr’s agenda.

We are in uncharted waters at this point.  We will keep a close watch on how this develops.

Simington’s announcement can be seen here.