Companies Lobbying O'Rielly Despite Looming Exit

O’Rielly “still has a vote,” said Hogan Lovells' Trey Hanbury. Hanbury’s client Roku spoke with the commissioner Sept. 4, a month after his nomination was withdrawn. “Until a new commissioner takes the seat, I would expect we would have clients who want to meet with him,” Hanbury said now. “He’s still a commissioner, he would still seem to have influence,” said Greg Weiner, a partner at Vertix Consulting who spoke with O’Rielly Aug. 21.

O’Rielly’s office told us his situation hasn’t affected his work. “Until his last day at the commission, whether soon or down the road, Mike will continue to do the job to the fullest extent possible, including taking all requested meetings that his schedule permits,” emailed Chief of Staff Joel Miller.

A comparison of O’Rielly’s ex parte meetings over the past two months shows he's involved in more (virtual) meetings since the Aug. 3 announcement the White House was pulling his renomination than in the previous month. He took five such meetings in July (and one June 30); he had 13 meetings Aug. 4-Sept. 17. An FCC official said the number may be more influenced by the ebb and flow of entities with business before the agency than O'Rielly's status.

O’Rielly’s office declined to comment on whether he recused himself from any topics or meetings with companies since his nomination was pulled, and FCC spokespeople referred us back to O’Rielly. Communications Daily filed a Freedom of Information Act request with the agency seeking information. O’Rielly would likely be expected to recuse himself from meeting as a commissioner with an entity at which he was pursuing a post-FCC job.

The companies and topics involved in meetings that happened after O’Rielly’s future became uncertain don’t appear to show a pattern. The most common topic was the FCC’s controversial Ligado approval, with four lobbying meetings with Lockheed Martin, Iridium, Trimble and aviation groups. The FCC’s draft order on Lifeline minimum service standards (see 2008240024) and the C band were the subjects of two meetings each. The others included a meeting with Incompas on unbundling and a Sept. 9 meeting with ACT|The App Association on 5G.

Attorneys and lobbyists interviewed about O’Rielly’s status unanimously said he's still a commissioner, so it makes sense to keep meeting with him. Chairman Ajit Pai is going to want all the Republican votes he can get, and that gives O’Rielly power, an aerospace industry advocate said. Meeting with a commissioner provides an insightful sounding board to thinking within the agency, and companies don’t want to pass that up, the advocate said. Some entities have a long relationship with O’Rielly on particular issues and don’t see the renomination being pulled as a reason to change things before he steps down. “We’ve been working with him so long,” said ACT | The App Association Communications Director Ashley Durkin-Rixey.

Entities pushing a longer-term campaign on an item or concerned about a matter that isn’t likely to be before the commission until next year mightn't make an effort to meet with him on those particular matters, some FCC attorneys said, but that would be a narrow circumstance. “Possibly, if you had a long-term strategy but for matters before the FCC right now, I don’t know why you would treat him any different,” said Vertix's Weiner.

The FCC and communications bar exist in a small world of lobbyists and companies, so snubbing O’Rielly’s office could also be seen as a poor decision, numerous industry attorneys and lobbyists said. “You don’t know where he’s gonna end up,” said retired broadcast attorney Frank Jazzo. Stakeholders noted that Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel was in a similar state as O’Rielly when her reconfirmation was blocked in 2016. She's back on the FCC, and a possible candidate to head it under a Democratic White House (see 2006170053).