President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), Gigi Sohn, has raised concern among Republicans concerning her strong partisan background and associations.
GOP leaders have expressed disagreement as Sohn previously led a liberal group called Public Knowledge. Some conservatives fear her leadership could target broadcasters over their politics.
Federal Election Commission (FEC)
records also reveal Sohn has donated to Democrats in the past. Donations include $6,675 to Obama for America, as well as donations to both Hillary Clinton’s 2016 and Biden’s 2020 campaigns.
“Gigi Sohn is a complete political ideologue who has disdain for conservatives. She would be a complete nightmare for the country when it comes to regulating the public airwaves,” Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) wrote on
Twitter.
“While I have been deferential to all presidents when it comes to picking their team, I have also pushed back on unqualified nominees and hacks,” he continued.
“I will do everything in my power to convince colleagues on both sides of the aisle to reject this extreme nominee,” Graham concluded.
One America News Network President Charles Herring expressed a different opinion concerning Sohn.
“Gigi Sohn is one of the most knowledgeable persons I know on FCC issues and has the common sense & desire to work with people on both sides of the aisle. I’ve witnessed first hand her dedication to DIVERSITY IN MEDIA & the FIRST AMENDMENT. I fully endorse her nomination for FCC,” he said on Twitter alongside a statement of support on Tuesday. Sohn has been known for her outspoken views regarding certain conservative broadcasters and leaders.
In a 2018 post, she
referred to then-Supreme Court Justice nominee Brett Kavanaugh as “an angry white man.”
Sohn has also expressed her disdain for Fox News.
“For all my concerns about #Facebook, I believe that Fox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy. It’s state-sponsored propaganda, with few if any opposing viewpoints. Where’s the hearing about that?” she
posted online in 2020.
When Tribune Broadcasting ended a merger discussion with conservative network Sinclair Broadcasting Group in 2018, Sohn also
sounded off over her issues with the outlet.
“The dangerous Sinclair-Tribune merger is officially dead. I say that @FCC should look at whether Sinclair is qualified to be a broadcast licensee at all.”
Sohn’s strongly partisan background led The Wall Street Journal’s Editorial Board on Monday to publish an
op-ed entitled “A Media Censor for the FCC?” that recommended against her nomination.
“Ms. Sohn’s strident partisanship should disqualify her from serving as an officer of an independent agency with so much power to control the public airwaves,” the op-ed said.
