It looks as though the reconfirmation of Democratic FCC commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel will be a casualty of the caustic political environment in Washington, which the election of Donald Trump has only exacerbated.
The GOP will get their FCC majority a little sooner for not scheduling a vote, and the president-elect will get to pick the next Democratic member. Historically, that choice, out of courtesy, goes to the Senate minority leader, which will be Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), but tradition is one thing Trump has sworn not to uphold and in fact has pledged to run roughshod over. So whether Dems get their input, or the unwritten rules are about to be undone, only the president-elect and/or his advisors know. Trump has pushed a press conference off to January, so we will have to mine tweets and rally statements and try to figure out what direction the FCC takes next.
Where it does go will be without a fair-minded, hard-working public servant whose only offense was, well, there was none. She has been a political pawn sacrificed in a game that nobody wins.
Rosenworcel will be fine. But the process has suffered and the players hardly distinguished themselves. She deserved better.
