Dems Oppose Brendan Carr’s Efforts To Rush The Appointment Of A Lackey To FCC, Promise New Year Investigations Into Carr
The GOP and Ted Cruz are trying to rush the appointment of Brendan Carr's personal legal aide Danielle Thumann Severs to the FCC. While simultaneously refusing to seat any new Democrats to the Commission or extend the term of Democratic FCC Commissioner Anna Gomez, who has been a very vocal critic of FCC boss Brendan Carr's media censorship campaigns and abuse of power.
Their goal is to use the lame duck session to illegally impose a 3-0 FCC majority so they can rush through all sorts of dodgy efforts; from the further deregulation" (read: elimination of all oversight) of telecom and media giants, to Carr's ongoing efforts to harass journalists that criticize the President. They should have the votes to confirm Severs, though Democrats can certainly slow-walk the confirmation (recall what the GOP did to popular reformer Gigi Sohn's nomination to the FCC).
Severs had her first hearing this week before the Senate Commerce, Science & Transportation Committee, and it didn't go particularly well. She refused to answer basic questions, and generally received an appropriately-cold shoulder from Democrats fresh off of their landslide midterm victory:
After the American people last week overwhelmingly rejected the MAGA agenda, there is no justification for this committee to advance partisan nominees during the lame-duck period," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said."
Other Democrats at the hearing promised looming new year investigations of Carr's numerous instances of illegal destruction of consumer protection and media consolidation limits, as well as his long-list of efforts to trample the First Amendment and undermine public-interest journalism:
I don't think Chairman Carr is going to be around more than another three or four months because when we have the gavels in here, he will be here once a month," Sen. Ben Ray Lujan (D-N.M.) said. And Mr. Carr, if you're listening now, know you're going to be in this body once a month, if not more, and in the House of Representatives as well, answering questions, and you don't have the protection of the gavel any longer." Lujan said Democrats will use subpoena authorities that you have to respond to so we can get to the bottom of the nonsense and the cover-ups that have been taking place."
Some Democrats made it clear that as a personal aide to Carr, Severs is effectively just a warm body who'll exist to rubber stamp Carr's agenda for the remaining two years of Trump's Presidency:
Ms. Thumann Severs, your career has largely been spent serving Brendan Carr," Hickenlooper said. [You are] currently Chairman Carr's senior counsel; previously, you were legal advisor to Commissioner Carr. Your official duties include near-daily meetings with Chairman Carr and working to advance his agenda, amplify his messaging."
Severs stated she personally helped draft Carr's efforts to dismantle E-Rate, the $3 billion a year program that helps drive affordable broadband into parts of the country left high-and-dry by the regional telecom monopolies Carr refuses to regulate.Since it's illegal to simply destroy a program dictated by Congress, they're trying to effectively erode it while pretending the changes won't prove fatal.
Severs also refused to address Carr's ongoing harassment of companies like ABC for their sin" of hosting politicians Donald Trump doesn't like, or platforming comedians that made fun of the President's wife. Carr's efforts on that front have even involved creating a conspiracy with the help of right wing broadcasters that ABC violated FCC rules by simply hosting newly elected Texas Senator James Talarico.
Democrats, if you're listening: that last one should be very fertile ground for subpoenas, since it's clear Carr had Trump friendly broadcasters - including Sinclair and NexStar - alter paperwork to help him pretend that ABC had violated the law (see: pages 3-4 of this ABC/Disney filing with the FCC).
Severs refused to meaningfully answer questions when asked about Carr's efforts to strip away ABC's broadcast licenses for the sin of upsetting Republican interests:
Thumann Severs answered that the FCC has a responsibility to fully investigate any complaint... and to evaluate that complaint on the merits. I don't think a decision should be made purely based on someone's discontent with the content being aired."
Based on publicly available material, which is all I have seen on that particular matter, the licenses were called for early renewal as part of an investigation into potential rule violations," Thumann Severs said today."
About as weak as you'd expect for somebody hand-picked to prop up Carr's extremist ideology.
Severs might still be confirmed, but a 3-0 Republican majority would technically be illegal under the Communications Act, potentially putting any FCC rulings under less stable FCC footing. At the same time, Trump's weakening health and political power will make it increasingly difficult for Carr in the face of companies that are already starting to take his threats less seriously.