President Biden’s nominee to lead the Federal Communications Commission withdrew her name from consideration Tuesday, the White House confirmed.
Gigi Sohn, first nominated in October 2021, pulled out of consideration after vocal opposition from Senate Republicans to her nomination.
“We appreciate Gigi Sohn’s candidacy for this important role,” said White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. “She would have brought tremendous intellect and experience, which is why the president nominated her in the first place. We also appreciated her dedication to public service, her talent and her years of work as one of the nation’s leading public advocates on behalf of American consumers and competition.”
The announcement came after Democratic Sen. Joe Manchin III of West Virginia said he would vote against her nomination.
He said the FCC needs a leader who would “remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that.”
Ms. Sohn is a former aide to then-FCC Chair Tom Wheeler. With her withdrawal, the telecom regulator remains at an impasse with two Democratic and two Republican appointees.
Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, has called her nomination “a threat to free speech everywhere” and said she is a “radical, left-wing partisan.”
“Having someone like her in charge of overseeing our airwaves is incredibly dangerous,” he said.
Since the start of the Biden administration, Democrats have been unable to gain a majority of the five-member FCC, thwarting the party’s goal of restoring “net neutrality” rules revoked under former President Trump. The policy aims to bar internet service providers from slowing traffic or offering faster service for higher prices.
FreedomWorks, a limited government advocacy group, hailed the withdrawal of Ms. Sohn’s nomination.
“Gigi Sohn should never have been nominated to the FCC in the first place,” said Cesar Ybarra, FreedomWorks vice president of policy. “Her openly partisan outlook and past comments disqualify her from commanding a position that would allow her to regulate Americans’ freedom of speech. After her third confirmation hearing, we are glad to see that she finally had the wherewithal to withdraw her name from consideration herself.”