FCC Chair to Step Down Upon Trump’s Inauguration

Jessica Rosenworcel, chair of the Federal Communications Commission, testifies during a House Energy and Commerce Committee Subcommittee hearing in Washington on March 31, 2022. Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) chair Jessica Rosenworcel has announced she will leave the agency on the day of President-elect Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Rosenworcel, a Democrat, joined the FCC in 2012. She was named permanent chair by President Joe Biden in October 2021, becoming the first woman to hold that position.

“I want to thank President Biden for entrusting me with the responsibility to guide the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life,” Rosenworcel wrote in a Nov. 21 statement announcing her departure.

The FCC under Rosenworcel oversaw the Biden administration’s $14.2 billion internet subsidies, which gave eligible low-income families $30 monthly discounts for broadband access. She also led a $7 billion initiative to provide millions of students with Wi-Fi hotspots and other devices during the COVID-19 pandemic, when school lockdowns were widespread and remote learning became the norm.

More recently, In April, the FCC restored Obama-era “net neutrality” rules by reclassifying broadband internet access service as a public utility, much like water and electricity. The move expanded the regulatory regime’s oversight of internet service providers, imposing stricter accountability for outages, internet speeds, network security, and data protection.

“I am proud to have served at the FCC alongside some of the hardest working and dedicated public servants I have ever known,” Rosenworcel said.

During her tenure, Rosenworcel resisted calls to reinterpret Section 230, a content moderation law that shields social media companies like Twitter and Facebook from liability for user-generated content.

Both Trump and Biden have advocated for reforms to—or outright elimination of—Section 230. Their concerns range from addressing Big Tech censorship to protecting the “mental health and safety” of children in the digital age.

Rosenworcel will be succeeded by Brendan Carr, a Republican who has served as an FCC commissioner since 2017. An outspoken critic of Big Tech, Carr will assume the role of permanent chair upon confirmation by the Senate.

“Commissioner Carr is a warrior for Free Speech,” President-elect Trump said in a statement. “He will end the regulatory onslaught that has been crippling America’s Job Creators and Innovators and ensure that FCC delivers for rural America.”

Following his nomination, Carr wrote on X that, as FCC chair, he would work to “dismantle the censorship cartel and restore free speech rights for everyday Americans.”

Carr came under scrutiny from Democrats for writing a section about the FCC’s agenda in Project 2025, a collection of policy proposals developed by conservative think tank Heritage Foundation. His section notably called for the FCC to reinterpret Section 230 in order to eliminate “the expansive, non-textual immunities that courts have read into the statute.”

The FCC currently has three Democratic and two Republican commissioners. Upon Rosenworcel’s departure, it will undergo a shift in power as Trump appoints a new commissioner to establish a Republican majority.