The seeds of discontent sown during Olivia Trusty’s advancement out of the Senate Commerce Committee are sprouting. The FCC nominee faces mounting resistance from Democrats, as Republicans rush to establish a quorum and majority at the agency.
What began as a procedural step to restore quorum at the nation’s top communications regulator appears to have ignited fears of a Republican power grab at the Commission, with some lawmakers warning of a calculated effort to sideline their voice entirely, not weighing out the forced removal of lone Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez.
As of Monday night, that committee’s Ranking Member, Sen. Maria Cantwell (D-WA), has withdrawn her support of Trusty and is urging colleagues to block any confirmation without a paired Democratic nominee.
In a letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD), Sen. Cantwell criticized the decision to move forward with Trusty’s confirmation while the Democratic seat vacated by former Commissioner Geoffrey Starks on June 6 remains unfilled. The sudden resignation of FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington that same week has accelerated Republican efforts to confirm Trump nominee Olivia Trusty, as Chairman Brendan Carr lacks a quorum to conduct official business.
In response, Senate Majority Leader John Thune (R-SD) filed for two clotures on Trusty’s nomination on June 12, one for the remainder of former Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s term, which ends June 30, and another for a full five-year term after that.
With Congress set to recess for Juneteenth and Friday, June 20, votes on Trusty’s confirmation could take place as early as today, adding urgency to the standoff.
The Senate has traditionally advanced FCC nominees in bipartisan pairs to maintain balance at the agency. Sen. Cantwell warned that deviating from that norm could pave the way for a Republican-controlled Commission under the Trump administration.
Sen. Cantwell initially offered conditional support for Trusty’s nomination when it was reviewed by the Senate Commerce Committee in April. However, in light of what she described as increasingly aggressive tactics by the Trump administration, she said she can no longer back the nominee and is urging her colleagues to vote against confirmation.
The senator’s sharpest warning centers on what she sees as a deliberate effort to clear the Commission of Democratic voices – beginning, she fears, with the forced removal of Commissioner Anna Gomez.
“Given President Trump’s alarming record of seeking to illegally fire Democrats on independent commissions like the FCC, I remain seriously concerned that this Administration will try to illegally terminate Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez, refuse to nominate any Democratic replacements, and then operate the Commission on a strictly partisan basis,” she wrote.
Gomez herself voiced similar fears during a recent First Amendment Tour stop in Los Angeles. “I don’t know why I’m still in my position,” she said, referencing recent firings of Democratic appointees from agencies like the FTC. “I may not be in this position throughout my whole term, which would be illegal and disregard the will of Congress.”
“If I get fired, it isn’t because I didn’t do my job – it’s because I insisted on doing it,” she added, warning that federal agencies, including the FCC, are being used to pressure journalists, chill dissent, and intimidate newsrooms into self-censorship.
Even if Democrats across the Senate unite, it is unlikely they will be able to halt Trusty’s confirmation, as cloture votes for Presidential nominees only require a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes. Republicans hold 53 seats in the chamber.
