FCC chairman to take job at think tank

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Tom Wheeler will be taking a job in communication policy at the Aspen Institute think tank after he steps down from the FCC. 

Wheeler will be joining the institute’s Communication and Society program as a senior fellow. He is the sixth consecutive FCC head to move to the Aspen Institute after stepping down from the FCC chairmanship. 

{mosads}”Throughout my tenure as Chairman, I maintained that network providers have certain responsibilities to their consumers, including access, interconnection, consumer protection, public safety, and national security. I think Aspen’s unique platform for dialogue will be an excellent opportunity to address those goals,” Wheeler said in a statement.

While it was seen as a possibility that Wheeler might stay on as chairman under a Hillary Clinton administration, he announced his resignation a few weeks after Donald Trump’s Nov. 8 victory. 

His hallmark net neutrality regulations will likely face significant scrutiny from the forthcoming Republican majority FCC, which will be eager to scale the rules back, if not abolish them entirely.