Senator Ted Cruz targets Republican majority
Senator Ted Cruz scheduled a November 10 nomination hearing for Danielle Thumann Severs, an attorney and senior counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr. This move aims to widen the Republican majority on the Federal Communications Commission before Democrats take control of the Senate in January 2027. Cruz, the final two-month chairman of the Senate Commerce Committee, intends to move the Thumann Severs nomination to a full Senate vote. Trump nominated Thumann Severs in August, though a September hearing was postponed to accommodate her maternity leave. If the Senate confirms her, Republicans gain a 3-1 advantage on the commission. This advantage could grow to a 3-0 split by the end of 2027 if Trump chooses not to renominate FCC Democrat Anna Gomez. Thumann Severs would not replace Gomez, as her nomination fills a different seat with a term expiring in 2029. In previous administrations, the president and Senate agreed on paired nominations to ensure the president’s party maintained a 3-2 advantage.
Legal and procedural risks
Senator Ron Wyden warned that federal law prohibits an all-Republican FCC. He wrote in a September 24 letter to Gomez that any action taken by a partisan FCC could be overturned in court based on the statutory history of the Communications Act. Wyden noted that since the Communications Act sets a quorum at three members, there is speculation the President intends to fire Gomez once the Republican nominee is confirmed. "Under an all-Republican commission, every single license renewal, equipment certification, spectrum transfer, or other delegated action would be legally defective, casting a cloud of crippling legal uncertainty over the entire communications industry," Wyden said.
| FCC Rule Detail | Specification |
|---|---|
| Quorum Requirement | 3 members |
| Max same-party members | Equal to the least number of members forming a majority |
| Thumann Severs term end | 2029 |
| Anna Gomez term end | 2027 |
Twenty-one Democratic lawmakers on the House Commerce Committee sent a letter to Cruz and Senate Majority Leader John Thune. These lawmakers urge that any new Republican nominee be paired with a qualified Democratic commissioner, including the renomination of Commissioner Anna M. Gomez to a full term. Gomez, whose term technically expired on June 30, can serve until the end of 2027 or until the Senate confirms a replacement. She has opposed Carr’s attacks on news organizations and attempts to police speech on broadcast TV. Democrats stated Gomez defends editorial independence and speaks out when she believes that authority is being stretched beyond its proper role. Gomez also advocated for telecom consumer protections, competition, network security, and access to affordable high-speed broadband. She called on Congress to fill empty FCC seats in a bipartisan manner to rebuild public trust in the commission.
The Communications Act requires that decisions on broadband, media ownership, and network security involve more than one point of view through deliberation and independent judgment. This situation mirrors the December 2020 confirmation of Nathan Simington, which resulted in a 2-2 deadlock at the start of the Biden term. The Biden-era FCC remained deadlocked at 2-2 until the Senate confirmed Gomez in September 2023.
