{"id":1004739,"date":"2021-11-12T19:43:32","date_gmt":"2021-11-13T00:43:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1004739"},"modified":"2021-11-12T19:43:36","modified_gmt":"2021-11-13T00:43:36","slug":"bidens-fcc-nominee-gigi-sohn-wants-to-silence-dissent-top-senate-republicans-say","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/bidens-fcc-nominee-gigi-sohn-wants-to-silence-dissent-top-senate-republicans-say\/","title":{"rendered":"Biden\u2019s FCC Nominee Gigi Sohn Wants To \u2018Silence Dissent,\u2019 Top Senate Republicans Say"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fbidens-fcc-nominee-gigi-sohn-wants-to-silence-dissent-top-senate-republicans-say%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1004739&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><ul>\n<li><strong>Senate Commerce Republicans are whipping opposition to the nomination of Gigi Sohn, one of President Joe Biden\u2019s picks for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cMs. Sohn is another radical leftist that President Biden is seeding his administration with,\u201d Sen. Ron Johnson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cHer hostility to free speech and constitutional rights is breathtaking and should be a grave concern to every American.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>Sohn has a well-documented history of antipathy towards Republicans and conservative media, tweeting&nbsp;that \u201cFox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy,\u201d calling the station \u201cstate-sponsored propaganda,\u201d and demanding a government \u201chearing\u201d into its broadcasts.<\/strong><\/li>\n<li><strong>\u201cGigi Sohn\u2019s nomination poses a threat to Americans\u2019 First Amendment rights,\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF. \u201cSohn has openly advocated using big government to censor and punish conservative media outlets.\u201d<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>Senate Commerce Republicans are whipping opposition to the nomination of Gigi Sohn, one of President Joe Biden\u2019s picks for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).<\/p>\n<p>Biden <a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/26\/joe-biden-jessica-rosenworcel-federal-communications-commission\/\"><u>nominated<\/u><\/a> Sohn, former FCC counsel under Tom Wheeler and Ford Foundation alum, to an empty spot on the commission in late October, along with current acting Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to the permanent position.<\/p>\n<p>While Republicans have been <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-11-12\/democrats-fcc-makeover-risks-delay-as-gop-fights-biden-nominee?utm_source=google&amp;utm_medium=bd&amp;cmpId=google\"><u>quiet<\/u><\/a> in their response to the nomination of Rosenworcel, many are pointing to Sohn\u2019s public statements on conservatives as reasons to oppose her confirmation. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/29\/joe-biden-federal-communications-commission-gigi-sohn\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: ANALYSIS: Biden\u2019s FCC Picks Could Bring Back A More Regulated Internet)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cMs. Sohn is another radical leftist that President Biden is seeding his administration with,\u201d Sen. Ron Johnson told the Daily Caller News Foundation. \u201cHer hostility to free speech and constitutional rights is breathtaking and should be a grave concern to every American.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7283783\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"37\">\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7283783\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Senator Ron Johnson (R-WI) questions Chad Wolf, acting Secretary of Homeland Security, appears before the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee on August 6, 2020 in Washington D.C. (Photo by Toni Sandys-Pool\/Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sohn has a well-documented history of antipathy towards Republicans and conservative media, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1321456221740847106?s=20\"><u>tweeting<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;that \u201cFox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy,\u201d calling the station \u201cstate-sponsored propaganda,\u201d and demanding a government \u201chearing\u201d into its broadcasts. She also <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1265809503989174273\"><u>promoted<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.freepress.net\/policy-library\/free-press-emergency-petition-covid-19-misinformation\"><u>petition<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;by left-wing advocacy organization Free Press urging the FCC to crack down on alleged misinformation surrounding COVID-19, citing specific examples from then-President Donald Trump and conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cGigi Sohn\u2019s nomination poses a threat to Americans\u2019 First Amendment rights,\u201d Sen. Marsha Blackburn told the DCNF. \u201cSohn has openly advocated using big government to censor and punish conservative media outlets.\u201d <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/11\/02\/gina-raimondo-infrastructure-broadband-funding\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: Biden\u2019s Commerce Secretary Is Trying To Shield A $42 Billion Broadband Funding Program From Public Eyes)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Sohn previously <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1242928394389671939\"><u>argued<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;that Senate Republicans\u2019 \u201cideology has overtaken their duty to serve their constituents\u201d in reference to their opposition to a particular broadband subsidy, and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1266364382239481856\"><u>described<\/u><\/a> Trump as one of a group of \u201cright-wing extremists,\u201d and <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/gigibsohn\/status\/1269653622167568386?s=21\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">claimed<\/a> the former president was \u201cdestroying the constitution.\u201d She has also called for cracking down on online \u201cmisinformation\u201d and \u201chate speech.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMicrosoft is buying itself real aggravation,\u201d she <a href=\"http:\/\/gigisohn.com\/news\/new-york-times-is-microsoft-sure-it-wants-to-buy-tiktok\/\"><u>told<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;The New York Times in August 2020 in reference to Microsoft\u2019s potential acquisition of TikTok. \u201cThere\u2019s no reason hate speech and misinformation won\u2019t just keep growing.\u201d<\/p>\n<div id=\"attachment_7209217\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\" readability=\"39\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-7209217\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-7209217 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Photographer-Ting-ShenBloomberg-via-Getty-Images-12112-e1623180822405.jpg\" alt=\"Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Ting Shen\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)\" \/><\/p>\n<p id=\"caption-attachment-7209217\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Senator Marsha Blackburn, a Republican from Tennessee, speaks during a news conference at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, D.C., U.S. on Thursday, March 4, 2021. (Ting Shen\/Bloomberg via Getty Images)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Sen. Lindsey Graham also pushed back on Sohn, <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/LindseyGrahamSC\/status\/1458222264793587714\"><u>describing<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;her as \u201ca complete political ideologue who has disdain for conservatives,\u201d predicting that her potential tenure at the FCC would be a \u201cnightmare\u201d and promising to do everything in his power to \u201cconvince colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this extreme nominee.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Top Senate Commerce Republicans, including Ranking Member Roger Wicker and Senate Minority Whip John Thune, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/news\/2021\/11\/01\/manchinema-fcc-dems-net-neutrality-518324\"><u>criticized<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;Sohn for her views on how government should regulate broadband networks. Sohn <a href=\"https:\/\/www.benton.org\/headlines\/restoring-federal-communications-commission%E2%80%99s-legal-authority-oversee-broadband-market\"><u>advocates<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;for reclassifying broadband as a common carrier under Title II of the Communications Act of 1934 and imposing net neutrality requirements on networks, as well as regulating broadband rates.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s very left, she\u2019s going to be a heavy hand in regulation, very heavy in net neutrality,\u201d Thune told Politico. \u201cShe\u2019s going to be very much, I think, Big Government stepping on the scales.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>A senior GOP Senate aide told the Daily Caller News Foundation that Sohn was unlikely to receive any votes from Republicans on the Senate Commerce Committee. <strong><a href=\"https:\/\/dailycaller.com\/2021\/10\/27\/supply-chain-broadband-brendan-carr-semiconductor-internet\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">(RELATED: The Supply Chain Crisis Could Threaten Rural America\u2019s Internet Access)<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<p>\u201cSohn\u2019s nomination is an endorsement by the Biden administration of abusing federal power to target and silence dissent,\u201d Blackburn told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>Sohn may also struggle to win over Democratic Sen. Kyrsten Sinema. While Sohn is a staunch advocate of Title II net neutrality regulations, Sinema has previously <a href=\"https:\/\/www.politico.com\/story\/2019\/04\/10\/net-neutrality-2020-election-issue-1331217\"><u>opposed<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;returning to a Title II framework.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI hope there are enough U.S. Senators who recognize the danger she represents and vote to deny her confirmation,\u201d Johnson told the DCNF.<\/p>\n<p>When reached for comment, Sohn\u2019s team pointed the DCNF to several <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/conservatives-speak-out-in-support-of-sohn-on-fcc\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">statements<\/a> from conservative media outlets, including <a href=\"https:\/\/www.oann.com\/statement-by-charles-herring-president-of-one-america-news-network-endorsing-the-confirmation-of-gigi-sohn-as-fcc-commissioner\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">One America News Network<\/a>, expressing their support for Sohn.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI trust Gigi to get it right when it comes to protecting my free speech,\u201d Bradley Blakeman, former adviser to President George W. Bush, said in a statement posted to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.newsmax.com\/amp\/bradleyblakeman\/fcc-gigi-sohn-senate-biden\/2021\/11\/10\/id\/1044101\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Newsmax<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sohn, who co-founded tech policy think tank Public Knowledge which is partially <a href=\"https:\/\/www.publicknowledge.org\/about-us\/sources-of-funding-for-public-knowledge\/\"><u>funded<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;by left-wing billionaires Pierre Omidyar and George Soros, is <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberg.com\/news\/articles\/2021-11-10\/biden-fcc-picks-to-get-separate-hearings-after-criticism-of-sohn-kvu6fuw5\"><u>due<\/u><\/a>&nbsp;to receive a committee hearing in several weeks.<\/p>\n<p>Content created by The Daily Caller News Foundation is available without charge to any eligible news publisher that can provide a large audience. For licensing opportunities of our original content, please contact <a href=\"mailto:licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org\">licensing@dailycallernewsfoundation.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Senate Commerce Republicans are whipping opposition to the nomination of Gigi Sohn, one of President Joe Biden\u2019s picks for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). \u201cMs. Sohn is another radical leftist &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1004739","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004739","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004739"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004739\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004739"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004739"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004739"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}