FCC/NOMINATIONS/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “The Senate on Thursday [9-28-17] advanced the nomination of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai for another term, making it more likely that the FCC will move forward with a number of regulatory moves, including a rollback of Obama-era net-neutrality rules.
The procedural vote to advance the nomination for a second five-year commission term was 55-41, generally along party lines, with a few Democrats supporting him. A final vote is expected next week.
Some observers believed Mr. Pai would choose to wait until his confirmation was complete before scheduling an FCC vote on rolling back the net-neutrality rules. Mr. Pai announced his plan in April, and the FCC voted in May to move forward with a proposed rule-making. But if the Senate had waited much longer to confirm him, the FCC final vote on new rules could have slipped into next year, putting it at risk of becoming a political football in the 2018 campaign season…
Meanwhile, internet providers requested Supreme Court review of their legal challenge to the Obama-era rules on Thursday. Their lawsuit had been rejected earlier by a federal appeals court. The providers generally favor Mr. Pai’s approach, but faced a Supreme Court deadline on Thursday to file their appeal. Their move also reflects the possibility that a legal challenge to Mr. Pai’s rules could succeed.
Mr. Pai’s expected confirmation also could accelerate a planned rewrite of FCC media-ownership rules, among other changes.”
-John D. McKinnon, “Senate Advances FCC Chairman’s Nomination for Another Term,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 28, 2017 04:13pm