NTIA Acting Chief Rinaldo Leaves Suddenly

Secretary-International Affairs Edward Hearst, lobbyists and observers said. It's unclear whether Hearst would be taking over as acting administrator or would be nominated to permanently take on the role. Industry officials said Rinaldo's departure was a surprise. Larry Strickling was administrator through almost the entire Obama administration, but there has been little stability under President Donald Trump. Rinaldo recused herself from spectrum deployment issues because her husband works as a lobbyist for T-Mobile. Rinaldo’s departure “strikes me as not good news” given spectrum policy disputes among the FCC, NTIA and other federal agencies, R Street Institute Tech Policy Manager Tom Struble told us. It’s perhaps “less jarring” than Redl’s sudden exit earlier this year because Rinaldo was “only the acting administrator” and because her recusals meant she couldn’t fully lead all the agency’s proceedings. American Enterprise Institute visiting fellow Shane Tews said Hearst is a “good choice." He “knows the ins and outs” of both the policy issues NTIA handles “and the politics” underlying them, Tews said. She expects Hearst or another successor to sign on as only an acting administrator given the limited time left before the 2020 election. “Nobody wants a nomination fight” so close to the campaign, especially given time that’s elapsed since Redl left, Tews said.