House Democrats urge Biden to make his pick for acting FCC chair permanent

More than 30 Democratic congresswomen sent a letter to the Biden administration Monday urging it to appoint acting Federal Communications Commission Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel on a permanent basis.

President Biden appointed Rosenworcel, a Democrat, to lead the agency in an acting capacity in January.

If Biden were to agree, she would be the first woman to serve as permanent chair of the body that regulates communications across most mediums.

“[Rosenworcel] has spent years raising the important voices and unique needs of women that have been ignored for far too long in technology and telecommunications policy,” the 33 female lawmakers led by Reps. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.) and Jackie Speier (D-Calif.) wrote.

“In her eight years as a Commissioner of the FCC, Jessica Rosenworcel has elevated the voices and needs of women.”

Rosenworcel headed her first open FCC meeting last week, when she announced the launch of a new task force dedicated to improving broadband mapping and data collection.

She has also pushed for the reinstatement of net neutrality and improved internet access for low-income communities in her time as a commissioner that began in 2012.

If Rosenworcel is ultimately nominated to head the commission on a permanent basis, the Biden administration will have an opportunity to pick another commissioner and establish a 3-2 partisan edge since Democrats command a razor-thin majority in the Senate.

The Hill has reached out to the White House for comment on the letter.