Jimm Phillips

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and five other Senate Democratic caucus members urged that the FCC and DOJ's Antitrust Division “closely scrutinize” T-Mobile’s proposed acquisition of UScellular’s wireless operations Monday night (see 2405280047). Wireless industry lawyers previously forecast the deal could face a tough road under the Biden administration. Its future could change depending on the outcome of November's presidential election (see 2405300053).

Senate Commerce Committee ranking member Ted Cruz, R-Texas, pressed NPR Tuesday for information about its funding sources amid the House GOP's push to end CPB’s advance funding for FY 2027. Thus far no lawmakers have tried stopping the House from moving forward on the Appropriations Committee-cleared Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee FY 2025 funding bill (HR-9029), which excludes advance money for the broadcasting network. House leaders meanwhile pulled the Appropriations-approved FY 2025 FCC-FTC funding bill (HR-8773) from planned floor consideration Monday, delaying potential floor votes on filed amendments that seek to undo a ban on the FCC implementing an equity action plan and increase the FTC’s annual funding (see 2407100060).

Congressional GOP leaders demanded Thursday that the FCC and other independent agencies adhere strictly to its narrowed leeway of interpreting federal laws following the U.S. Supreme Court’s June Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision and other recent rulings that rein in federal agencies (see 2407080039). House Commerce Committee Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers of Washington and Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer of Kentucky pressed the FCC, FTC and Commerce Department to understand the “limitations” Loper “set on your authority” given it overruled the Chevron doctrine. Meanwhile, FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr pooh-poohed critics of Loper who argue it hamstrings regulatory agencies. Communications-focused lawyers at an Incompas event eyed a range of legal challenges to recent FCC actions that could face improved prospects because of Loper.

Stop Project 2025 Task Force founder Rep. Jared Huffman of California and 15 additional House Democrats asked FCC Inspector General Fara Damelin and other federal watchdogs Wednesday to investigate “potential ethics violations” by Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr related to his writing the telecom chapter of the Heritage Foundation’s Project 2025 manifesto. Carr, seen as the front-runner to lead the FCC if former President Donald Trump wins a second term (see 2407120002), urged in the Project 2025 chapter to roll back Communications Decency Act Section 230 protections for tech companies, deregulate broadband infrastructure and restrict Chinese companies. Trump has disavowed Project 2025 and its proposals.

Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., told us Thursday she plans to hold a follow-up meeting with members of that panel and the Armed Services Committee later this month on her Spectrum and National Security Act (S-4207). She’s hoping to jump-start stalled spectrum legislative talks after S-4207’s momentum appeared to stall amid a series of scuttled May and June Senate Commerce markups (see 2406180067). The Senate Armed Services-Commerce meeting will happen “when we get back” the week of July 22, after a week-long congressional recess to accommodate the Republican National Convention in Milwaukee. “We had a call with some” Senate Armed Services and Commerce members before scheduling the canceled June 18 markup session, “but we didn’t get to communicate with everybody” before pulling the vote. She hoped to hold the follow-up meeting this week, "but everything that’s been transpiring” meant it’s been “pretty busy around here.” Senate Armed Services Committee ranking member Roger Wicker of Mississippi and other Republicans in June blamed Cantwell’s lack of communication about behind-the-scenes revisions of S-4207 to secure backing from Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo and Biden administration-appointed military leaders as a major reason they couldn’t support the bill at that time (see 2406170066). Cantwell earlier this week cited a July 1 FCC report to Congress that found 40% of Secure and Trusted Communications Networks Reimbursement Program participants lacked enough funding to complete removal and replacement of suspect network gear (see 2407020042) as a reason for Congress to move on S-4207.

Republican FCC Commissioner Nathan Simington appears likely to win renomination regardless of which party takes the White House in November, lawmakers and lobbyists said in interviews. Some observers believe it's unlikely Democrats will use Simington's 2025 confirmation process to strike back against any FCC structural changes Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr may propose if former President Donald Trump wins and nominates him as chairman, as expected (see 2407120002). Carr’s reconfirmation last year (see 2310020043) means his term doesn’t expire until 2028, so he wouldn't face a new round of Senate scrutiny.

The House Appropriations Committee voted 31-25 Wednesday to advance its Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies Subcommittee FY 2025 funding bill without advance FY 2027 money for CPB after Democrats didn’t attempt to restore the allocation. The House Rules Committee, meanwhile, will consider filed amendments to Appropriations’ FY25 Financial Services Subcommittee bill (HR-8773) that aim to undo a ban on the FCC implementing an equity action plan and increase the FTC’s annual funding. The measure proposes boosting the FCC’s annual allocation to $416 million but includes riders barring the commission from implementing GOP-opposed net neutrality and digital discrimination orders (see 2406050067).

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel showed no willingness Tuesday to abandon a March Further NPRM that would ban bulk billing arrangements between ISPs and multi-dwelling unit owners (see 2403050069) despite bipartisan criticism during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing. She was similarly unmoved by GOP skepticism about a proposal requiring disclosure of AI-generated content in political ads (see 2405220061). During the hearing, Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr called for the FCC to backtrack on both proposals because of the U.S. Supreme Court’s June Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo decision and other rulings (see 2407080039).

House Commerce Committee Republicans launched a probe Tuesday of NTIA’s communications with state-level broadband offices related to the $42.5 billion broadband equity, access and deployment (BEAD) program. Long-standing Republican criticisms of BEAD, meanwhile, became a major issue during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing that morning on the FCC’s FY 2025 budget request (see 2407090049). Lawmakers sparred over the propriety of GOP Commissioner Brendan Carr publicly slamming the program.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s June decision in Loper Bright Enterprises v. Raimondo that overruled the Chevron doctrine (see 2407010036) will likely heavily influence discussion during a House Communications Subcommittee hearing Tuesday on the commission’s FY 2025 funding request, congressional aides and lobbyists told us. Chevron gave the FCC and other federal agencies deference in interpreting federal laws. Republican FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr is urging the commission ahead of the House hearing to drop a planned July 18 vote on a draft order and Further NPRM letting schools and libraries use E-rate support for off-premises Wi-Fi hot spots in response to the ruling. The hearing will begin at 10 a.m. in 2123 Rayburn.