Letter Sent

O'Rielly Emerges as Republican Pick for Open FCC Slot

July 17, 2013 by Bryce Baschuk and Howard Buskirk|Top News

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., sent the White House a letter formally submitting Michael O'Rielly, a top staffer with Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, for the open FCC seat, said industry and Capitol Hill officials Tuesday. O'Rielly would replace Robert McDowell, who left the commission in May. The McConnell office has a reputation for not leaking information, but industry and Hill officials said Tuesday they have been told O'Rielly was picked for the recommendation after an extensive search. O'Rielly’s nomination is expected to be paired with that of Tom Wheeler, President Barack Obama’s pick for FCC chairman, for eventual approval in the Senate.

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McConnell’s letter with a GOP nominee was sent to the White House weeks ago, said Commerce Committee Ranking Member John Thune, R-S.D., in an interview Tuesday. “We are still waiting on the White House to submit the name.” Committee Republicans hope the White House is “in the business of processing” McConnell’s request, said Thune. “They have not made any nomination recommendation as of yet, but we hope it will be soon.” McConnell doesn’t “make any announcements/confirmations on nominees unless/until the President does,” said his spokesman via email. A White House spokesman declined to comment.

Democrats aren’t holding up the FCC nomination process, said Committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., in an interview at the Capitol. “No, no, no, no,” he said. “Sometimes what the Republicans like to do is they like to pair [nominees]. We'll be for so-and-so if you'll be for so-and-so. If the leaders want to work that out, OK. We don’t work out those agreements. We just take the person, pass the person, don’t pass the person, whatever it is.” Rockefeller couldn’t say when the Wheeler nomination would be considered by the Senate, and told us “it may not be” before the August congressional recess. “I'm so embarrassed when people ask me that,” said Rockefeller. “It’s not terrible in the sense that everyone knows who is going to go -- it’s a scheduling thing. We haven’t even had a [committee] markup.” Rockefeller has previously told us that he doesn’t think a full-Senate vote on Wheeler needs to wait for a Republican nominee (CD June 19 p1).

It appears that the letter McConnell sent Obama recommended O'Rielly for the open Republican slot on the FCC, said a Republican lawyer. Since the letter was apparently sent sometime in the last few weeks, and a background check usually takes about eight weeks, the nomination is unlikely to be formally announced until after Labor Day, with a vote unlikely in the Senate before Columbus Day, the attorney said: “These things are done right before recesses and that’s the next big recess.” The FBI’s Washington field office, which vets presidential nominees, “as a matter of policy” doesn’t “confirm or deny the names of individuals for whom we perform security clearances,” said a spokesman.

O'Rielly “is a bright fellow,” said a longtime wireless industry lawyer and former Senate staffer. “I don’t know how innovative he will be, but three out of the five commissioners will be Hill rats.” Commissioners Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai each logged time working for both the Senate and the FCC before they were nominated to the agency.

Meanwhile, the House Communications Subcommittee may be planning an FCC oversight hearing on July 31, said an industry official. A subcommittee spokesman had no comment.