FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to Step Down Next Year

Federal Communications Commission chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel will step down from the agency next year, with her fellow commissioner Brendan Carr set to become chairman when Donald Trump is sworn into office.

Rosenworcel said in a statement Thursday that she will exit the Commission on Jan. 20, the same day as the presidential inauguration.

“Serving at the Federal Communications Commission has been the honor of a lifetime, especially my tenure as Chair and as the first woman in history to be confirmed to lead this agency,” Rosenworcel wrote in a statement. “I want to thank President Biden for entrusting me with the responsibility to guide the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life. Taking the oath of office on the street outside of the agency during the height of the pandemic, when so much of our day to-day moved online, made clear how important the work of the FCC is and how essential it is for us to build a digital future that works for everyone.”

Rosenworcel made bridging the digital divide a top priority, including seeking to expand broadband access to rural America, and instituting a broadband affordability program. It was also under leadership that the FCC launched a space bureau as policy shifts toward space-based communications.

Carr says that his top priorities at the FCC when he takes over will be fighting “tech censorship,” and enforcing the public interest rules for broadcasters that the FCC oversees. This week he said that a 60 Minutes interview controversy could come up in Skydance’s proposed takeover of Paramount, and he had called on other presidential candidates to issue complaints to the FCC over Harris’ appearance on Saturday Night Live, which he suggested may violate its equal time provisions.

He may have to wait, however, until a new FCC commissioner has been approved by the Senate. When Rosenworcel steps down, the Commission will have two Democrats and two Republicans, leaving it deadlocked.