Turns out third time’s not the charm, at least not for Gigi Sohn. After the Senate Commerce Committee declined to nominate Ms. Sohn to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) for two years in a row, President Biden bizarrely renominated her for a third time in early 2023. On Tuesday, she withdrew from consideration.
While the Senate was evenly divided, the Commerce Committee twice deadlocked on votes to move Sohn’s nomination to the floor. If Democrats were united in their support for Ms. Sohn, they would have approved her last Congress with a tie-breaking vote from Vice President Harris. The fact that they did not do so means that at least one Democrat outside the committee opposed her confirmation. Sohn’s withdrawal came moments after one such Democrat, Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia, announced his opposition after two years of silence on the issue.
Perhaps Biden’s team calculated that an increased majority in the Senate would make the task easier. Apparently they didn’t consult any Senate Democrats, because her abrupt withdrawal came before the Commerce Committee had a chance to hold a third vote. Even though Manchin was publicly opposed, she could still lose one Democrat and win if all Republicans opposed her. That means opposition to her nomination was more widespread behind the scenes among Democrats.
Either way, this is great news for free speech, intellectual property and rural broadband expansion. Gigi Sohn’s open hostility toward Fox News and Sinclair Broadcasting undermines her credibility as an straightforward broker in the telecommunications space. It was also forced to withdraw from key decisions after: beloved settlement in a copyright infringement lawsuit filed against a non-profit organization on whose board she sat. In 2017 she was related to organizations who harassed former FCC Chairman Ajit Pai over net neutrality.
Mrs. Sohn on he testified that “policymakers have focused disproportionately on broadband expansion in rural areas of the United States,” despite the fact that most unaccompanied Americans live in rural areas. She has also been associated with groups supporting defunding the police.
Ms. Sohn probably didn’t do herself any favors during her third confirmation hearing last month. Newly elected Sen. J.D. Vance (D-Ohio) took the opportunity to question a tweet in which she called Judge Brett Kavanaugh an “angry white man” and asked Ms. Sohn whether it would be disqualifying for a candidate to characterize Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson as an “angry black woman.” Her answer was “not necessarily.” As Senator Vance noted at the time, America is currently plagued by deep racial polarization, and such sentiments will not support lower the temperature.
Moreover, since the second hearing in early 2022, Ms. Sohn has broken long-standing precedent and donated money to the campaigns of senators who were actively considering her nomination. While this is not illegal, the appearance of impropriety is obvious and does not reflect well on Ms. Sohn’s judgment.
Meanwhile, despite a number of dire predictions from progressive activists who predicted that the FCC, evenly divided between Democrats and Republicans, would be paralyzed by indecision, the 2-2 FCC managed to put aside their differences and focus on meaningful, bipartisan reforms and a number of good – government initiatives. These include national updates Broadband coverage mapcracking down on insecure Chinese technology and legislating the Affordable Connectivity Program and Digital Discrimination.
At its February open meeting, the evenly divided FCC also reached a unanimous agreement to provide survivors of domestic violence with crisis communications support and streamline bureaucracy to connect tribal schools to broadband. Ms. Sohn has remained on the sidelines throughout, with her nomination pending, with Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel and GOP Senior Commissioner Brendan Carr repeatedly challenging the claim that she is needed at the FCC to break a nonexistent deadlock.
Gigi Sohn’s confirmation would be a strike against bipartisanship and a sorrowful continuation of the divisive and polarizing politics of our times. Ms. Sohn’s rhetoric has been consistently polarizing both politically and racially. Conservatives, Republicans, and anyone who values the rule of law and free speech should celebrate the defeat of this extreme candidate.
James Erwin, executive director of digital freedom and federal affairs manager for telecommunications at Americans for Tax Reform.
