White House's Narda Jones Expected as Rosenworcel's Chief of Staff
White House Office of Science and Technology Policy Legislative Affairs Director Narda Jones is widely expected to soon be named FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s chief of staff, and will be joined in Rosenworcel’s office by Facebook’s Priscilla Delgado Argeris, who previously was on Rosenworcel’s staff when the chairwoman was a commissioner. Numerous industry officials told us they see the new hires as part of Rosenworcel gearing up in anticipation of having a Democratic majority, not as indicators of a policy shift. FCC chiefs of staff help shape the chair’s policy but still reflect the agenda of their boss, said Blair Levin, who held that spot under former FCC Chairman Reed Hundt. Industry officials told us they expect the new hires to be announced soon, possibly at the start of April.
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Jones joined the White House as OSTP legislative director in January 2021 (see 2101060060), but before that spent years as a Senate staffer. She was a 2014-2019 aide to now-Senate Commerce Committee Chair Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., and then became senior technology policy adviser and counsel for the panel's Democratic members. Rosenworcel also was counsel to Senate Commerce before becoming an FCC commissioner. Jones previously spent over 10 years at the FCC, working as a division chief in both the International and Wireline bureaus.
Jones is “ideally positioned to know the key players in the administration,” said Meta’s Dan Ball, who worked on the other side of the aisle from Jones at Senate Commerce. Ball said Jones is both “highly regarded” and “great to work with.” Multiple industry officials told us Jones is a natural choice for the role. Travis Litman, Rosenworcel's chief of staff and senior legal adviser when she was a commissioner, has been serving as acting chief of staff. Ex-FCC Commissioner Mike O'Rielly, once a longtime congressional staffer himself, said both Jones and Argeris are "exceptionally capable individuals" and called them both "highly respected" and "well-liked." Jones, Argeris, the White House and the FCC didn’t comment.
Cantwell told us Jones would be a “great” choice for Rosenworcel’s chief of staff. “She obviously has a big knowledge of the Hill and” Senate Commerce “on a bunch of issues” that the FCC will tackle in the years ahead, Cantwell said. She's also encouraged that Jones “spent time over” at the FCC before her stints on the committee and OSTP.
The real job of the FCC chief of staff is “to make sure everyone does the best work possible,” said Levin, now with New Street. That person speaks with the voice of the chair and has the chair’s full trust, Levin said. Rosenworcel “has worked with these folks and trusts them,” he said. FCC chief of staff “was the most challenging job that I have ever had,” said Matthew Berry, who held the post for then-FCC Chairman Ajit Pai. “On any given day, I had to move quickly between policy issues, legal issues, press inquiries, executive branch relations, Hill relations, personnel issues, financial issues, and more,” Berry said. “And each day also seemed to bring a completely unexpected issue that required immediate attention.”
Argeris is Meta’s public policy manager-connectivity and access. But before joining Meta, she was a longtime aide to Rosenworcel, leaving in 2015 as senior legal adviser on wireless, public safety and international issues. In a 2015 news release announcing her departure, Rosenworcel called Argeris “a trusted advisor who has been by my side since the very earliest days in my office” and a “fantastic public servant, policy whiz, and eagle-eyed lawyer.”
Several industry attorneys said they consider the hires, with their FCC and tech policy experience, further indications of Rosenworcel’s intent to push for net neutrality rules once she has a democratic majority. Nominee Gigi Sohn is expected to be in place soon, industry officials told us. “They both would be great choices as two super talented people that likely can help the Chair move her agenda forward,” said Multicultural Media, Telecom and Internet Council President Robert Branson. “Their reputations suggest they will be people I will want to interact within that office.”