Democratic FCC Commissioner stepping down

Federal Communications Commissioner Mignon Clyburn on Tuesday announced that she would be stepping down from her post at the agency.

Her resignation follows months of anticipation that she would leave the agency.

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The Democratic commissioner has held her post at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since being nominated by former President Obama and confirmed by the Senate in 2009.

She briefly served as interim FCC chairwoman for five months in 2013, the first woman to hold the distinction. 

She voted in favor of high-profile FCC proposals including stronger net neutrality regulations.

Republican Chairman Ajit Pai and the agency’s other commissioners praised her work at the FCC.

Pai said that she “chaired with distinction and served with honor,” referring to her tenure as interim Chairwoman.

Her departure will leave the FCC at four commissioners total, three Republicans and one Democrat, until Clyburn’s Democratic successor is confirmed.

According to a Democratic Hill aide, Senate Minority Leader Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) has proposed FCC Enforcement Bureau official Geoffrey Starks to be Clyburn’s successor.

Starks has not been formally nominated by the White House yet.

Clyburn said that she does not have future plans “laid out,” yet. Some have speculated that she’s interested in eventually running for the House seat that her father Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.) holds when he eventually steps down.