In a 55-43 vote, veteran communications attorney Anna Gomez was confirmed on September 7 as the FCC’s 87th commissioner.
Gomez was nominated by President Joe Biden in May 2023 following the withdrawal of controversial nominee Gigi Sohn. Gomez will occupy the Commission’s fifth seat and third Democrat slot, ending the longstanding 2-2 partisan deadlock in the FCC. The fifth seat had been vacant for two years and seven months.
Gomez’s confirmation was supported by five Republicans, with Senators Shelley Moore Capito (R-W.Va.), Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), and Todd Young (R-Ind.) voting in favor of her confirmation. Senators Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) did not vote.
Senator Ted Cruz (R-Texas) delivered remarks expressing his opposition.
“If confirmed, [Gomez] would give the Democrats a majority at the FCC that would enable them to impose a radical left-wing agenda, including investment-killing and job-killing so-called net neutrality rules, otherwise known as Obamacare for the internet,” Cruz said. “I strongly oppose her nomination and I encourage my colleagues to do the same.”
Cruz continued, “The FCC exercises vast power over how Americans communicate and access information. It also has a history of abusing vague statutory provisions to pursue partisan policy goals. In the wrong hands, the FCC could go down a dark path of censoring speech and engaging in regulatory overreach.”
Gomez is a Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the State Department’s Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. She served as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2013. Her extensive resumé has also included twelve years in various roles at the FCC, Counsel on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communication, and Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Economic Council under the Clinton Administration. Gomez was a partner at Wiley LLP and as an associate at Arnold and Porter.
