Tell President Biden: Nominate a fifth FCC commissioner

 

After a despicable right-wing disinformation campaign against her, Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s extremely qualified nominee to the FCC, has withdrawn her nomination.

The Senate refused to act on her nomination for sixteen months – while dark money groups built up a smear campaign against her in right-wing media echo chambers, turning to homophobia and bigotry to leave the FCC under capacity and deadlocked in a 2-2 partisan split.

I’m disgusted by the attacks we’ve seen over the past two years – but we can’t give in to Big Money bullying now. President Biden must immediately nominate a replacement who will serve the public – not corporate interest.

Sign the Petition: The White House must seat a fifth FCC commissioner ASAP – so communities and families everywhere can get and stay connected >>

We’ve seen what happens when people can’t afford to get online. Students can’t log on to their virtual classrooms, patients can’t access healthcare through telemedicine, and families are unable to meet their daily needs.

But for over a year, the Senate gave in to dark money groups and far-right opposition, refusing to confirm Gigi Sohn to the FCC despite her career fighting for the public interest and support from over 400 organizations and individuals across the political spectrum. [1]

We can’t afford inaction when we’re all so heavily dependent on reliable Internet access. And every day that the fifth FCC commissioner seat remains open – the Trump FCC’s legacy of decision-making that puts profits over people remains in place.

Until a fifth commissioner is appointed and confirmed, the agency won’t be able to deliver reliable communications services to those who need them. That’s why I’m urgently asking you to speak out today.

Tell President Biden to immediately nominate a new FCC commissioner to end this partisan deadlock and get to work on the issues we care about – like restoring net neutrality, making broadband more affordable, and stopping digital discrimination.

The smear campaign against Gigi Sohn – and the Senate’s inaction on her confirmation – sets a dangerous precedent for the treatment of future public interest champions who are asked to serve in government. As we continue this work, I’m glad to have you with us.

Thanks for all you do,

Yosef Getachew, Media & Democracy Program Director
and the team at Common Cause

[1] freepress.net/policy-library/400-groups-and-individuals-express-support-gigi-sohn

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