Senate Commerce Eyes Dec. Simington Vote; Sullivan Holds Out

Senate Commerce Committee GOP leaders are eyeing a vote to advance FCC nominee Nathan Simington to the full chamber amid likely uniform Democratic opposition and lingering uncertainties about whether there’s unanimous GOP support. FCC Republicans, meanwhile, sidestepped questions about whether they will cooperate with President-elect Joe Biden’s transition, given objections from President Donald Trump. Chairman Ajit Pai announced a national-security-heavy agenda Wednesday for commissioners' Dec. 10 meeting but avoided saying he’s acquiescing to Democrats’ calls for him to stop work on major items (see 2011180065).

“I would expect to have a vote” on Simington in “early December,” said Senate Commerce Chairman Roger Wicker, R-Miss., in an interview. Simington’s responses to senators’ written follow-up questions are due Dec. 8. Wicker isn’t fully assured of committee Republicans’ unanimity, noting “there are a number of members who’ve still not met with” Simington. Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, one of the Republicans previously seen as undecided on Simington, now favors the nominee (see 2011130057). Republicans who attended Simington’s confirmation hearing last week appeared to support him (see 2011100070). Republican Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Ron Johnson of Wisconsin told us they plan to back the nominee.

Sen. Dan Sullivan of Alaska remains a Republican holdout (see 2009280038). “I haven’t spoken to [Simington] yet” and will decide how to proceed once a meeting occurs, Sullivan told us. “I have a lot of issues with the FCC” that Simington needs to make “commitments” on before that happens. Sullivan temporarily blocked Senate confirmation of Commissioner Brendan Carr in 2018 over concerns about how the FCC approach to the USF Rural Health Care Program affects Alaska (see 1809120056). The issue came up again in June during a hearing on Commissioner Mike O’Rielly’s now-rescinded reconfirmation bid (see 2006160062).

Blackburn told us she switched to supporting Simington after she “had an opportunity to visit with him and to question him” more thoroughly. She previously had concerns about his preparedness after an initial phone call (see 2011020001). “He has, I agree, a nontraditional background for going to the FCC, but I think that he is willing to work hard,” Blackburn said. “We want to make certain that we get him through” the confirmation process “before the end of the year.”

Senate Commerce ranking member Maria Cantwell of Washington told us she’s equally opposed to “moving forward” on Simington as fellow Democrat Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut indicated he was during the confirmation hearing. She didn’t indicate whether she will join Blumenthal in threatening to place a hold on Simington if the committee advances him.

Cantwell cited Simington’s policy stances, rather than the FCC’s future partisan makeup. “I just don’t think he’s what we need on the FCC at this point in time,” she said. Democrats have raised concerns that confirmation of Simington would result in either a 3-2 Republican majority or a 2-2 deadlocked FCC following Biden’s inauguration, depending on whether Pai leaves.

Republicans “shouldn’t dither on confirming' Simington, The Wall Street Journal editorial board said. That's something that communications sector lobbyists and officials believe Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky and other GOP leaders are doing in a bid to ensure one of their preferred candidates takes O’Rielly’s seat once Biden becomes president. Conservative groups are pressuring Sullivan to join Blackburn in backing Simington.

Krebs

Democrats criticized Trump for firing Department of Homeland Security Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Director Chris Krebs. Trump cited Krebs' earlier statement that there's “no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes” in the election “or was in any way compromised.” That statement “was highly inaccurate, in that there were massive improprieties and fraud,” Trump tweeted. Krebs was a leading administration official on supply chain security issues (see 1907310065).

Krebs is an “extraordinary public servant and exactly the person Americans want protecting the security of our elections,” said Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner, D-Va. “It speaks volumes that the president chose to fire him simply for telling the truth.” His firing makes the U.S. “less safe,” said House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., in a statement with House Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chair Lauren Underwood, D-Ill.: Krebs “put national security ahead of politics and refused to use his position to do the President’s bidding, so the President fired him. We commend Chris Krebs for refusing to cave to political pressure.”

“Thankfully, the firing of Chris Krebs will not get Trump the election security messaging he wants, but may undermine some of the momentum of the supply chain efforts the Trump administration has sought over the last few years,” emailed Tatyana Bolton, managing senior fellow for R Street’s Cybersecurity and Emerging Threats team. “If they were looking to most undermine all of their stated goals, this was the way to go,” said Bolton, a CISA veteran: “CISA is not a one-man show. It is a dedicated team of professionals who work day in and day out to ‘defend today, secure tomorrow’ as they say, and that will not stop.”

“The main impact of Krebs' departure will be felt in decreased confidence in the U.S. government's efforts to protect our elections,” Zack Cooper, security expert at the American Enterprise Institute, told us. “Since there are only two months left, I don't think the damage in other areas will be as great,” he said: “Unfortunately, the next CISA head will have to spend a lot more time now building trust, which will make it harder to focus on supply chain security and other related issues.”

Center for Strategic and International Studies Senior Vice President James Lewis said the departure likely won’t make that much difference. There’s “a strong advisory group and the direction has been pretty much set,” he said.

Transition Avoidance

Pai didn’t hold a news conference at the FCC’s Wednesday meeting, its first since the election.

Such pressers have been more infrequent since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, but Pai held a post-meeting news conference via telephone for several meetings in a row. The FCC didn’t comment on why no conference was held, but the absence of one on Wednesday meant Pai didn’t have to publicly confront questions about the presidential transition. FCC spokespeople declined to comment when asked if the agency would cooperate with the transition or if there has been any communication with the Biden transition team.

Carr was the only commissioner to hold a news conference Wednesday. Asked about the transition, he declined to comment on whether he views Biden as president-elect. “It’s just not something I’m interested in commenting on one way or the other,” Carr said. He did say -- in a jocular tone -- that he’s “not confident” he will be put in charge of wireless infrastructure going forward as he was by Pai, “whoever the chairman may be” in 2021.

Carr told reporters he anticipates staying at least through his current term, which ends in 2023. He can stay until Congress adjourns sine die Jan. 3, 2025, unless the Senate confirms him or another nominee. “I absolutely love this job,” said Carr, who first joined the staff in 2012. “It’s hard to imagine there’s anything more satisfying” than telecom policy.

Interacting with the incoming FCC transition team (see 2011160048) is the prerogative of the chairman’s office, Carr said. He hasn’t been in touch with Biden’s representatives, though he said he's very familiar with them. One is former fellow Commissioner Mignon Clyburn, and Carr said he attended high school with another: former FCC and NTIA staffer Smitty Smith. The commission is in a better position than most federal agencies on the transition because it already has members of both parties, Carr said.

Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel didn’t respond to questions about the transition team. Neither Democratic commissioner has held a news conference since the FCC stopped having in-person meetings in early 2020, but Rosenworcel's staff has requested that any questions be emailed. O’Rielly had been doing post-meeting teleconferences with reporters but ceased after Trump withdrew his renomination in August (see 2008030074).