The United States Senate has moved ever closer to approving nominees to both the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) which would break the current partisan deadlocks in both agencies. This is major news as these nominations could shift the regulatory direction of both commissions moving forward. According to an article from The Washington Post:
“The Senate Commerce Committee voted 14 to 14 along party lines to advance FCC nominee Gigi Sohn and FTC nominee Alvaro Bedoya to the Senate floor. Committee Chair Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) said she would report the ties to the Senate floor, where Democrats hold a narrow majority secured only by the tie-breaking vote of Vice President Harris.
Both agencies with broad oversight over Silicon Valley companies, the FCC and FTC have lacked a Democratic majority for months, preventing them from moving forward with widely anticipated initiatives, such as restoring open-Internet regulations and crafting new competition rules.
While the agencies are split, FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel and FTC Chair Lina Khan have had to negotiate compromises with Republican commissioners, who disagree with some of their key positions.”
