geoffrey starks

After spending the last two and half years deadlocked 2 to 2, the Federal Communications Commission, or FCC, has reentered the policy battlefield with the confirmation of new commissioner Anna Gomez last week. Democratic appointees now hold a majority for the first time since the Obama administration. The standoff has meant that few regulatory decisions of importance have been made since President Joe Biden took office.

Gomez’s quiet ascension follows a year-plus-long battle over former nominee Gigi Sohn, who withdrew from consideration in March, after a scorched-earth campaign against her nomination by large technology and telecommunications corporations undermined support among centrist members of the Senate Democratic caucus.