Senate Democrats Look to Break Deadlock on Biden FTC and FCC Nominees
For months, Republicans have blocked votes on Biden's nominations of Alvaro Bedoya to the FTC and Gigi Sohn to the FCC. Democrats say they've had enough.
President Joe Biden's nominees to fill vacant seats on the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission could finally get their confirmation votes in the Senate in the coming weeks.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer on Tuesday evening announced that the Senate will break the deadlock on Alvaro Bedoya's nomination to the FTC in the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, where it has been blocked by Republicans on the committee for months. The vote, which is expected Wednesday, would bring Bedoya's nomination out of committee, which would allow it to move to the full Senate for a vote.
Schumer used a procedural process called a discharge petition in order to bypass Republican opposition. This will allow the full Senate, which is narrowly controlled by Democrats, to vote on a nomination. Schumer used the same maneuver this week to advance the nomination of Lisa Cook to the Federal Reserve.
"We all know we've seen prices go way up, and we also all suspect a lot is due to different gouging and manipulations," Schumer said Wednesday when he introduced the motion. "The FTC is about the best agency to look for this. But without Mr. Bedoya, the chair and members are handicapped in moving that forward."
A final confirmation vote on Bedoya is not expected until after the Senate's two-week break for Easter. Schumer has said he plans to spend next week on confirming Supreme Court nominee Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Schumer is also expected to use this mechanism to advance the nomination of another deadlocked appointee, Gigi Sohn, who Biden nominated in October to a vacant FCC seat.
Without the confirmation of Biden's nominees, the FTC and FCC have each been operating with split 2-2 commissions and no majority. This means that the agencies have been limited in what issues they can address, because controversial issues often split along party lines. The confirmation of Bedoya to the FTC and Sohn to the FCC would cement the Democratic majority at those agencies, allowing them address key issues.
This is important for the FTC as Chair Lina Khan tries to move forward her progressive agenda, which includes toughening rules on mergers and data privacy. With a 2-2 split, Khan has been limited in her power to bring consumer protection cases at the FTC.
FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel has also been unable to act on key issues, such as reinstating net neutrality protections. Sohn, an outspoken consumer advocate who served as an adviser to former FCC Chair Tom Wheeler, helped write the 2015 net neutrality regulations that were thrown out under President Donald Trump's FCC. She's been public about her intention to get new rules back on the books.
Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee have accused both Bedoya and Sohn of being too partisan. Several Republicans have criticized Bedoya, an advocate for stricter privacy protections, for past tweets on political topics, such as immigration, that they say suggest he'd be a polarizing figure on the FTC.
"I remain concerned by the frequency with which he has publicly expressed divisive views on policy matters rather than using a more measured and unifying tone," said Sen. Roger Wicker, a Republican from Mississippi and the ranking Republican on the Commerce Committee, earlier in March.
Republicans have also taken issue with Sohn's tweets, especially one in which she called Fox News "state-sponsored propaganda" because it lacks opposing viewpoints.
"We're not nominating you for any normal assistant secretary," Sen. Dan Sullivan, a Republican from Alaska, said during a confirmation hearing. "You're going to be an FCC commissioner -- enormous power, particularly as it relates to free speech."
Democrats have defended the Biden appointees, and they say it's time to get the nominees confirmed. Sen. Maria Cantwell, a Democrat from Washington and the chair of the Commerce Committee, said it's crucial that agencies like the FTC have a full slate of commissioners in order to do the job of the people.
"The FTC Is the security guard for America's consumers," she said in a statement. "The FTC needs to be able to protect all Americans, and to accomplish that we need to have a commission that is not deadlocked, but has somebody like Mr. Bedoya who can help us move ahead on these issues."