3rd Sohn Confirmation Hearing Possible in Mid-February, Early March Amid Uncertainty

The Senate Commerce Committee’s schedule for reconsidering FCC nominee Gigi Sohn remained unclear before the chamber’s expected Monday return from a more than two-week recess, with lobbyists and other observers saying chamber organizational uncertainties are the main barrier. President Joe Biden renominated Sohn this month, setting up a third partisan showdown with Republicans after the Senate stalled her confirmation process in 2021 and 2022 (see 2301030060). Friday marked two years since the FCC began operating with a 2-2 split, following former Chairman Ajit Pai’s resignation the day Biden took office (see 2101210067).

Senate Commerce aides are eyeing a Sohn confirmation hearing sometime during the next two months, but the likeliest dates are between mid-February and early March, lobbyists said. The committee won’t be able to pinpoint a date until after it formally organizes at an executive meeting, which probably won’t happen until the end of January or the beginning of February, lobbyists said. Senate Commerce Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and incoming ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, can then negotiate on a Sohn hearing date and other committee business, lobbyists said.

Cantwell is unlikely to “pick a fight” with Cruz on this since, without Commerce GOP cooperation, the full Senate would need to vote to discharge the committee’s jurisdiction on Sohn before considering her confirmation, one telecom lobbyist said. Cruz is seeking a “full and thorough vetting process" of her nomination, including receipt of updated paperwork, meetings with Senators and staff, and a new public hearing.

Observers will be watching for the first signs of progress Monday, the day Senate Commerce is expected to release its roster for the 118th Congress. The final membership was still in flux Friday, though lobbyists expect Democrats will hold a one-member majority on all Senate committees to reflect their shift to a 51-49 outright majority. Senate Commerce and other panels were tied in the last Congress to reflect the chamber’s 50-50 split. Some lobbyists expect the committee will retain all 14 Democrats from the last Congress, and all 13 GOP members who are still in the Senate. The only Commerce member to retire at the beginning of 2023 was Roy Blunt, R-Mo.

“It’s not a surprise” that Cruz, Communications Subcommittee ranking member John Thune of South Dakota and other Republicans want Senate Commerce to do a complete re-review of Sohn, said New Street’s Blair Levin. The “notion that you have to do this again” in 2023 “is such a waste of resources,” but Cruz’s role in precipitating the 2013 government shutdown shows it “does not appear to bother him to waste government resources." Cantwell believed at the end of 2022 that another hearing on Sohn was possible (see 2212300044).

There was a “full investigation” into Sohn in 2021 when the panel first considered her nomination (see 2112010043) and she “hasn’t done anything since then that should in any way affect what someone thinks of her” or whether a senator should support her confirmation, since White House nominees keep a low public profile while the Senate is still evaluating them, Levin said. An additional confirmation hearing on Sohn last year focused on her role as a board member for Locast operator Sports Fans Coalition and her commitment to temporarily recuse herself from some FCC proceedings involving retransmission consent and broadcast copyright matters (see 2202090070).

If Cantwell does agree to another hearing and other re-vetting processes, “that should happen as soon as possible” given the importance of breaking the FCC’s deadlock, said Free Press Vice President-Policy Matt Wood. “There’s going to be some impatience” from everyone “who wants to see the return to a fully-functioning agency at how long” Sohn “has waited and not wanting to have anything close to” the 2022 stall happen again, but “I certainly see [Senate Commerce] can’t do a hearing until they’ve fully organized.” The first week of February “is probably the earliest” a hearing could happen due to that dynamic, but “there’s work to do before you can get there,” he told us.

Senate Commerce “might have an opportunity” to hold a hearing on Sohn the first two weeks of February given expectations about the panel’s organizational timeline, but if that’s delayed until later in the month or early March, “I wouldn’t characterize it as dragging their feet,” said Public Knowledge Government Affairs Director Greg Guice. “There’s clearly an opportunity to move forward expeditiously” and Cantwell “has said she wants to move” Sohn “quickly, while recognizing the fact that she has a new ranking member” in Cruz. Free Press cited the two-year 2-2 commission milestone in a statement urging swift Senate action, saying the chamber "needs to stop letting cynical political maneuvers from obstructionist lawmakers and industry-aligned lobbyists further delay the crucial work of the FCC."