Heidi Heitkamp Lobbies Against a Democratic FCC

The American Prospect is a nonprofit, independent magazine covering public policy and politics. Sludge is re-publishing this article.

Sixteen months into the Biden presidency, a Democratic majority on the deadlocked Federal Communications Commission remains elusive. President Biden acted to fill a position made vacant by the transfer of presidential power last October, but Gigi Sohn has drawn skepticism and opposition from players across the aisle. In an America where politics are rarely bipartisan, one has to wonder: What did Sohn do right?

Sohn is seen as a progressive, “boundary-breaking” nomination; she would be the first openly LGBT commissioner in history, and she would also bring the FCC back into Democratic control. A Democratic FCC would almost definitely reinstate net neutrality, the policy that says telecommunications providers must be unbiased toward content flowing through their networks. This has made her potential elevation to the FCC contentious. Sohn is no doubt qualified; as a top aide to former FCC chair Tom Wheeler, she helped formulate the net neutrality policy. As the founder of telecommunications advocacy group Public Knowledge, Sohn has supported a “multipronged strategy” to achieve digital equity, noting the lack of access for different marginalized groups and criticizing past failures to adequately address these disparities.

Thanks to already having two Senate Commerce Committee hearings, Sohn has answered more questions than most nominees. But her confirmation to the commission continues to find obstacles in the way, ones put there by big money.

The myriad of players opposing Sohn include the Fraternal Order of Police, who allege that “Sohn’s social media, public policy stances, and employment history has indicated serious animus towards law enforcement officers and the rule of law.” Their analysis is mostly based on Twitter, where Sohn has retweeted pretty basic views such as “police brutality is bad.” This misdirection was picked up by The Wall Street Journal, whose editorial page claimed that Sohn’s nomination puts Democratic senators “at risk” if they vote for her.

Police unions are notoriously conservative, so maybe FOP’s opposition is not surprising, even if it does seem out of place. On the other hand, opposition from the telecom industry, which profits from throttling traffic and sidestepping investment to build out networks so everyone can have affordable internet access, is very much in place. So much so, in fact, that telecom and cable companies are using front groups like FreedomWorks, Americans for Tax Reform, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, and the League of United Latin American Citizens (which gets a lot of telecom money) to spread their message. Even the Fraternal Order of Police has a partnership with AT&T.

What is more surprising is the intraparty opposition Sohn faces.

One Country Project is a political action committee established by former North Dakota Democratic Sen. Heidi Heitkamp, which is “dedicated to reopening the dialogue with rural communities, rebuilding trust and respect, and advancing an opportunity agenda for rural Americans.” This PAC took out a $250,000 ad campaign in six states with members of the Democratic Senate caucus (Arizona, Colorado, Maine, Montana, Nevada, and West Virginia), with the sole purpose of defeating Sohn’s nomination.