A pair of powerful Democrats will be getting together with civil society groups Monday afternoon to urge the Senate not to approve the nomination of Nathan Simington to succeed Republican FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly, according to one of those groups.
Simington, whose Senate vote could come as early as Tuesday (Dec. 8) is with the National Telecommunications & Information Association (NTIA), President Trump's chief communications policy advisory arm, and worked on NTIA's petition asking the FCC to regulate social media, as Trump had mandated that NTIA do.
Related: Sen. McConnell Moving on Simington Confirmation
According to Fight for the Future, which calls Simington "dangerously unqualified," Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) and Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will join with that group as well as Access Now, Free Press, Media Justice, New America’s Open Technology Institute, Public Knowledge, and United Church of Christ’s Office of Communication in a press conference expressing their opposition.
Related: Carr Urges Simington Nomination to Stall Democratic FCC
"Simington’s confirmation would likely deadlock the Commission indefinitely, blocking the agency's ability to help Americans access the internet during the pandemic or restore net neutrality. This confirmation would also violate the Senate’s tradition of moving Commissioners in bipartisan pairs," said Fight for the Future.
