1. United States
2. Pa.
3. Letter

Sen. Ted Cruz plans to advance Donald Trump’s FCC nominee, Danielle Thumann Severs, during the lame-duck session before Democrats assume Senate control in January. The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled her confirmation hearing for Nov. 10. Severs, a senior adviser to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, would give Republicans a 3–1 majority on the five-seat commission. The panel could become entirely Republican after 2027 if Trump declines to renominate its only Democrat, Anna Gomez, or replaces her sooner. Democrats want Severs paired with a Democratic nominee or with Gomez’s renomination, following the FCC’s traditional bipartisan process. Sen. Ron Wyden has warned that an all-Republican commission could violate federal law and expose its decisions to court challenges. The effort echoes Republicans’ December 2020 confirmation of Trump nominee Nathan Simington shortly before Joe Biden took office, a move that left the FCC deadlocked for much of Biden’s early presidency, reports Ars Technica. It's worth noting that Sen. Cruz is one of only four Texas Republicans still in office both statewide and nationally by virtue of not having been on the ballot this year. His efforts with the FCC hardly reflect the will of the people! Do your job: keep the FCC as bi-partisan as possible.