The U.S. Senate is likely to confirm President Donald Trump’s nominee to fill a vacancy at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) next week, The Desk has learned.
On Thursday, Senator John Thune, who serves as the majority leader in the Congressional chamber, filed a “notice of cloture” that will allow the Senate to debate, and then vote, on Trusty’s nominee.
The debate and vote will happen in two phases. One will confirm Trusty to serve out the remainder of former FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel’s term, which expires at the end of June. The second would be to confirm Trusty to a new five-year term, which will expire on 2030.
With a Republican majority in the Senate, Trusty’s nomination is expected to face few hurdles. The Senate is limited to just 30 hours of debate if the cloture is approved, which will clear the way for Trusty to be confirmed by the end of next week.
Trusty’s appointment will give current FCC Chairman Brendan Carr a simple majority, which will allow him to act on a number of key policy initiatives.
Two other seats vacated by FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Nathan Simington will still need to be filled. By law, no more than three commissioners may be from the same party. Trump has not announced his nominees to replace Starks and Simington at the agency, and he is under no deadline to do so.
