MOVING PARTS MULTIPLY WITH INACTION ON FCC NOMINATIONS

摘要

Republican leaders have yet to choose a GOP nominee to join the FCC. They want their candidate paired with FCC chairman nominee Julius Genachowski at a joint confirmation hearing by the Senate Commerce Committee. Candidates interviewed by Republican leaders are said to have included Meredith Baker, a former acting NTIA administrator; Lee Dunn, the telecom counsel to Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz.; Mike O'Reilly, a policy analyst with the Republican Policy Committee and former telecom aide to Sen. John Sununu, R-N.H.; Ajit Pai, former deputy FCC counsel under Chairman Kevin Martin; and Neil Fried, senior minority counsel to the House Commerce Committee. nnPai is said to be Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell's favored candidate. But Sen. Kay Hutchison of Texas, the ranking member of Commerce, was put out when, without notifying her, several Judiciary Committee members sent McConnell a letter recommending Pai. He once was a staffer for Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., who was behind the letter. Meanwhile, Commissioner Robert McDowell's term is up in June, although he can serve though this Congress. It's unclear whether he'll win a full term on the commission. McDowell is said to face opposition from AT&T, but he has strong Republican support, and other industries, including cable, are said to be backing him. Michael Copps could remain the acting commission chairman well into the summer. If so, he, not Genachowski, would oversee the June 12 DTV transition. Some lobbyists have speculated that Genachowski would prefer that outcome.