Public interest advocate Gigi Sohn has withdrawn her nomination for the Federal Communication Commission, ending a three-year effort by the Biden administration to get her appointed as the third Democratic commissioner.
The failure of her candidacy is a blow to the Biden administration’s hopes to reinstate net neutrality and implement technology regulations, and it is a significant win for Republicans aiming to slow President Joe Biden’s agenda.
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Sohn’s withdrew Tuesday after Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he would oppose her, making it difficult for her to gain a majority in the Senate.
Her withdrawal comes after 16 months of efforts by Republicans criticizing her activism for Democratic causes, online inflammatory remarks, and partnerships with select left-leaning groups.
“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,” Sohn told the Washington Post. “And with the help of their friends in the Senate, the powerful cable and media companies have done just that.”
Manchin announced his opposition to Sohn on Tuesday, stating that her political remarks in the past are enough to justify opposing her suggestion.
“Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that,” Manchin said in a press statement. “For those reasons, I cannot support her nomination to the FCC, and I urge the Biden Administration to put forth a nominee who can bring us together, not drive us apart.”
Republican lawmakers have opposed Sohn’s appointment, alleging that she is a left-wing ideologue who favors heavy-handed regulation, censorship of conservatives, and net neutrality. Some conservatives initially expressed support for her based on her advocacy for more diversity in broadcasting, but GOP resistance to her nomination hardened over the course of the past year.
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Sohn was first nominated in 2021, but her nomination stalled last year when Democrats had only 50 senators.
Sohn was grilled by Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) at her third nomination hearing on Feb. 14 over her donations to Democratic causes. The nominee said the “relatively small” gifts were done as the actions of “a citizen who just wanted to participate in the democratic process.”
