After being renominated in January to fill the vacant fifth commissioner seat at the FCC, Gigi Sohn has withdrawn her name from consideration.
Sohn was originally nominated by President Biden to fill the seat vacated by former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in October 2021. From 2013-2016, Gigi served as Counselor to Former FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler, and from 2001-2013 was Co-Founder and CEO of communications and technology policy advocacy organization Public Knowledge and Project Specialist in the Ford Foundation’s Media, Arts and Culture unit and Executive Director of the Media Access Project.
In a memo Sohn wrote, “When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies. The unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family.”
Sohn’s nomination was met with resistance from Republicans, NAB, and the telecommunications industry for being too far left in their words due to her positions in favor of net neutrality and being against further media consolidation. West Virginia Senator Joe Manchin’s opposition to her nomination was the final nail in her candidacy as it would make it unable for her to get confirmed by the Senate.
Sohn’s stalled nomination had set a record for the longest a candidate for the FCC had gone without a confirmation vote as she couldn’t garner enough votes to proceed. Whomever is nominated and confirmed will be for a five year term retroactively starting on July 1, 2021.
Last night after discussions with my family and careful consideration, I made the decision to ask President Biden to withdraw my nomination to the Federal Communications Commission. When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies. The unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family.
Unfortunately, the American people are the real losers here. The FCC deadlock, now over two years long, will remain so for a long time. As someone who has advocated for my entire career for affordable, accessible broadband for every American, it is ironic that the 2-2 FCC will remain sidelined at the most consequential opportunity for broadband in our lifetimes. This means that your broadband will be more expensive for lack of competition, minority and underrepresented voices will be marginalized, and your private information will continue to be used and sold at the whim of your broadband provider. It means that the FCC will not have a majority to adopt strong rules which ensure that everyone has nondiscriminatory access to broadband, regardless of who they are or where they live, and that low income students will continue to be forced to do their school work sitting outside of Taco Bell because universal service funds can’t be used for broadband in their homes. And it means that many rural Americans will continue the long wait for broadband because the FCC can’t fix its Universal Service programs.
It is a sad day for our country and our democracy when dominant industries, with assistance from unlimited dark money, get to choose their regulators. And with the help of their friends in the Senate, the powerful cable and media companies have done just that.
I want to thank President Biden for his faith in me and for my champions in the Senate who defended me at every turn. I especially want to thank the dozens of people who volunteered their time and energy to help me through this process, as well as the over 400 organizations, companies and trade associations, and hundreds of thousands of individuals who registered their support with the Senate. I will forever be grateful for their efforts on my behalf.I hope the President swiftly nominates an individual who puts the American people first over all other interests. The country deserves nothing less.
