In a move centered around President Trump’s current pursuits on online speech, the Senate has rushed to confirm Nathan Simington to the FCC by a 49-47 party line vote.
Simington was nominated to fill the seat that had been held by Michael O’Reilly until President Trump rescinded his renomination in August. Simington was involved in Trump’s push to repeal Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act to allow social media networks be held liable for things posted by users.
The nomination also creates the potential for a bottleneck at the FCC should the Republican Party retain its majority in the Senate and preventing President Biden from nominating a new commissioner to fill the majority seat currently held by departing Chairman Ajit Pai.
Simington most recently served as a senior adviser in the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, specializing in network and telecommunications policy. Simington also served as senior counsel to telecom provider Brightstar Corporation.