Biden’s FCC Nominee Once Played Role in Tanking Bipartisan Broadband Deal

FIRST ON FOX The beleaguered nominee for President Biden The Federal Communications Commission (FCC), once played a significant role in sabotaging a bipartisan agreement on the agency’s low-income broadband program.

In late March 2016 — amid high-stakes negotiations on the agency’s Lifeline program — Gigi Sohn, who The counselor was at that time a counselor According to an inspector general report, Tom Wheeler, former chairman of the FCC, leaked confidential information about the bipartisan agreement to Politico. The report was published several months later. Sohn’s leak revealed that commissioners had agreed to a limit on the Lifeline program’s annual budget. This led to left-wing furor which ultimately sank the deal. 

The FCC approved a Democratic-backed plan hours after the March 31st leak. Don’t miss the Lifeline program Uncapped in a partisan vote of 3-2. This vote represented a dramatic reversal of a deal to limit the program at $2Billion, which would have passed in 4-1 votes. It had been privately agreed to before Sohn’s leak.

“It turns out that since early this morning, perhaps even late last night, Chairman Wheeler and his staff have been actively working to unwind that bipartisan compromise,” former FCC commissioner Ajit Pai After the vote. “Those efforts started with leaking nonpublic information to the press.” 

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Gigi Sohn speaks in her Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee confirmation hearing, February 9, 2022. (Pete Marovich, The New York Times/Pool / Getty Images).

“The Chairman’s Office then encouraged lawmakers and stakeholders, from the usual gaggle of left-wing, Beltway special interests to former FCC Commissioners, to blast the deal before the votes could be cast—indeed, before they even knew what the deal was,” He went on.

Pai stated that his office had completed the bipartisan compromise “to modernize the Lifeline program while staying faithful to our core principles” Earlier, the commissioners met with each other. They noted that it wasn’t an easy agreement and that staff worked all night. 

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“It is one thing to refuse to work toward bipartisan compromise — something that, for some reason, the Chairman wears with a badge of honor that distinguishes him from everyone else, Republican and Democrat alike, who has ever held that seat,” Pai was stated. “It is quite another thing to launch a political campaign to force a Democratic FCC Commissioner to renege on a bipartisan compromise on her signature issue.”

“This agency in this proceeding represented the worst of government,” He stated. “Bipartisan agreements that would deliver digital opportunity to millions of Americans are thrown away and even Democratic commissioners are bulldozed simply because the Chairman can get away with it.”

Ajit Pai, the former chairman of Federal Communication Commission testified before the House Energy and Commerce Committee Dec. 5, 2019. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images / Getty Images)

According to the FCC inspector General Report on the incident, Sohn collaborated with Wheeler’s communications director and helped plan the leak. Bipartisan leaders from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee requested this report. The report stated that the Lifeline vote had occurred before the leak. “were certainly unusual,” But we couldn’t find the source of the leak.

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Sen. John Thune of R-S.D. was then-chairperson of the Commerce Committee and said that the report was flawed. “yet another indication of increased partisanship and dysfunction at the FCC.”

In October 2021, President Biden appointed Sohn to succeed Pai, who was the chairman of the commission during Trump’s administration. Biden renominated Sohn for the position in January after she was stopped by bipartisan opposition.

Despite bipartisan opposition, President Biden nominated Gigi Son twice for the FCC.  (AP Photo/Evan Vucci / AP Newsroom)

Sohn has been facing several challenges over the past month Her anti-police views have drawn criticismOnce, he shared a tweet claiming that former President Trump was a “raggedy white supremacist president” Sitting on the Board of an Organization against Anti-Sex Trafficking Laws 

Sohn was also a Proponent vocal of net neutrality. Sohn has been warned by the Chamber of Commerce, which is the largest national business industry group. “extreme views” Appelled to the Senate to reject its nomination of her in January.

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But, left-wing interest organizations led by Communications Workers of America have since launched an aggressive campaign to support Sohn’s nominating.

For her confirmation hearing, scheduled for February 14, 2023 by the Senate Commerce Committee, she will appear.