Commissioner Geoffrey Starks is leaving the FCC Friday, the same day as Commissioner Nathan Simington, Starks said in a release a few hours after Simington’s announcement. Starks said in March that he would leave the agency this spring (see 2503180009) and announced at the May 22 FCC meeting that he wouldn't be in office for the June 26 meeting. “Serving as a Commissioner has been the highlight of my career. I am immensely proud of all that we have achieved together,” Starks said in the release. Starks' and Simington's departures will leave the FCC with just two commissioners. The Communications Act requires a quorum of three, but there are federal rules that would allow the FCC to proceed with fewer, attorneys told us.

Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington announced Wednesday that he will leave the agency at the end of this week (see 2506030069). Simington thanked his staff and said he felt he was leaving the agency in good hands under Chairman Brendan Carr. Simington was confirmed as a commissioner in the first Trump administration in 2020.

Numerous industry and FCC officials told us Tuesday that FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington is expected to leave the agency or announce an imminent departure this week. Simington and his office didn’t respond to requests for comment. His term expired last year, but he was expected to stay until the end of 2025. The makeup of the agency is already in flux: Current Democratic Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said he will leave before the FCC's planned June 26 meeting (see 2505220043, and the confirmation of Republican Olivia Trusty isn’t expected until late June or July (see 2505290053). It's seen as unlikely that Simington would exit before Starks and leave the FCC with a Democratic majority. However, if he departs after Starks but before Trusty’s confirmation, it would leave just two commissioners. The Communications Act requires a quorum of three. An announcement Wednesday from Simington would precede FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s expected announcement of his agenda for the June 26 meeting, lobbyists said.

The FCC's denial of LTD Broadband's Rural Digital Opportunity Fund (RDOF) Phase 1 long-form application wasn't arbitrary and capricious, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit said Tuesday in a per curium order rejecting LTD's petition for review (No. 24-1017). LTD was the largest winning bidder and challenged the FCC's denial of its long-form application after more than a yearlong review process. A three-judge panel held oral argument in November (see 2411050040). The court disagreed with all LTD's arguments. It said the FCC's guidance on RDOF rules "does not describe a light-touch, deferential review" and determined that the agency gave LTD "fair notice" of its review. The court also disagreed that LTD was treated differently from other bidders and that the FCC could alternatively deny only part of its winning bids because there wasn't "a sufficient basis in the record for the FCC to distinguish" areas where LTD "was and was not financially and technically prepared to provide service." LTD CEO Corey Hauer didn't immediately respond to a request for comment.

FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks said today's open monthly meeting will be his last as a commissioner. "This has been the role and honor of a lifetime," he said minutes ago at the meeting. Starks said in March that he would leave the agency this spring (see 2503180009). He became a commissioner in 2019. FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said Starks has had a "tremendous run" in public service. "I very much value our friendship, our work together," he said.

The FCC lacks statutory authority to require that most broadcasters gather and report data about their employees' race, ethnicity and gender, the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals ruled Monday, backing a petition from the National Religious Broadcasters, Texas Association of Broadcasters and American Family Association challenging the agency order. "While its authority to act in the public interest is broad, the FCC cannot invoke public interest to expand the scope of its authority to act in ways Congress has not authorized it to act," Judges Jennifer Walker Elrod, Edith Jones and Carl Stewart said in a 19-page decision (docket 24-18) written by Elrod. The judges said that since the agency lacked the authority, the court wouldn't decide on the petitioners' arguments that the agency was violating broadcasters' First and Fifth Amendment rights or that the FCC was acting in violation of the Administrative Procedure Act.

The FCC announced Friday the approval of Verizon’s $20 billion buy of Frontier, in an action by the Wireline Bureau. The approval came after Verizon filed a letter at the FCC agreeing to get rid of diversity, equity and inclusion programs, a top focus of the FCC under President Donald Trump. The FCC moved relatively quickly and the deal had only been pending since September (see 2409050010).

EchoStar has met or exceeded all the commitments it made with the FCC on its 5G network, "and our work is not yet finished," Chairman Charlie Ergen said Tuesday in response to the FCC opening an inquiry into the company's compliance with its 5G buildout obligations (see 2505120074). In a letter filed with the SEC, Ergen said EchoStar continues to deploy and invest in its 5G network. He touted the network as creating U.S. jobs and competition for incumbent wireless carriers, as well as furthering "another critical Trump Administration priority: deploying Open RAN to ensure the United States is at the forefront of wireless leadership." He said the company's buildout deadlines are consistent with FCC practice and carry with them "substantial pro-competitive commitments that EchoStar has fulfilled."

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, R-Texas, on Monday night called House Commerce Committee Republicans’ budget reconciliation proposal “encouraging” but stopped short of backing the measure. House Commerce’s proposal, which the panel will mark up Tuesday, would restore the FCC’s lapsed auction authority through the end of FY 2034 and tee up 600 MHz of bandwidth for sale within six years of enactment.

Supporters of the FCC's July 2024 order allowing schools and libraries to use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots and wireless internet services are eyeing several Republican senators they believe could oppose a Congressional Review Act resolution of disapproval (S.J.Res. 7) to undo the rule, which the chamber is set to begin considering Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., told us Monday night he's optimistic the chamber will advance an initial procedural hurdle on the CRA measure.