It took awhile, but the Senate Democrats have chosen the new subcommittee assignments for the Senate Commerce Committee, which oversees communications issues including the FCC.
Returning as ranking member of the Communications subcommittee (officially the Communications, Technology, Innovation and the Internet subcommittee) is Brian Schatz of Hawaii.
Rounding out the committee are Maria Cantwell (Wash.), Amy Klobuchar (Minn.), Richard Blumenthal (Conn.), Ed Markey (Mass.), Cory Booker (N.J.), Tom Udall (N.M), Gary Peters (Mich.), Tammy Baldwin (Wis.), Tammy Duckworth (Ill.), Maggie Hassan (N.H.), and Catherine Cortez Masto (Nev.).
The reason the process took as long as it did was the usual jockeying for position for assigments, plus added seats given Democrats' greater proportion of the Senate due to gains in the election.
The communications subcommittee lost two members, Claire McCaskill (Mo.) and Joe Manchin (W. va.), but gained four--the two Tammys, Duckworth and Baldwin; Hassan; and Cortez Masto.
Unlike the House, historically most of the communications issues are handled at the committee level.
