The Senate confirmed President Joe Biden‘s nominee for the Federal Communications Commission, who will fill a role that has been open for three years and give Democratic appointees a majority at the agency, likely restarting the debate over net neutrality.
FCC nominee Anna Gomez was confirmed by the Senate on Thursday in a 55-43 vote. Gomez was nominated in May after the previous nominee, public interest advocate and scholar Gigi Sohn, withdrew. Gomez’s confirmation gives FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel the votes necessary to enact net neutrality, a legal principle demanding that internet service providers treat all data equally and not discriminate based on their source or destination.
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Computer and Communications Industry Association President Matt Schruers said in a statement that his group “is pleased that now the FCC has a full complement of Commissioners and looks forward to the Commission’s tackling of policy issues that are critical to achieving ubiquitous, affordable, and open broadband services throughout the country.”
Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX), the top Republican on the Senate Commerce Committee, has been critical of Gomez. He said he was unsure Gomez had “the independence and regulatory humility necessary for confirmation” and criticized her for failing “to disavow heavy-handed net neutrality rules.” However, his attacks on her have been significantly less aggressive than Republican attacks on Sohn.
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Gomez stated she would support reclassifying the internet as Title II, making internet service providers “common carriers.” This would allow the FCC to implement additional regulations over ISPs, including net neutrality.
Gomez served 12 years at the FCC as the deputy chief of its international bureau and head of the bureau overseeing landlines. She has also worked at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and as Sprint’s vice president of government affairs.
