The Federal Communications Commission is set to return to its full strength of five commissioners after lawmakers in the U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr to the agency’s two open slots.
The U.S. Senate has just confirmed two new FCC commissioners
Lawmakers sent Brendan Carr, a Republican, and Jessica Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to the telecom agency.
Chip Somodevilla / Getty
For Rosenworcel, a Democrat, the unanimous Senate voice vote in favor of her nomination sends her back to an agency where she served under former President Barack Obama. Rosenworcel only left the FCC at the end of last year because lawmakers ran out of time to grant her another term.
For Carr, a Republican, his similarly easy confirmation is something of a promotion at the agency: He had previously served as general counsel to the FCC under its current GOP chairman, Ajit Pai.
A former lawyer for the nation’s top telecom companies — ties that earned him some criticism from liberal-leaning consumer groups — Carr is expected to become a reliable ally to Pai as he proceeds with his plans to undo the government’s net neutrality rules and loosen regulation on the telecom industry.
This article originally appeared on Recode.net.
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