Key Points
- Anna Gomez issued a dissent criticizing the Federal Communications Commission for dismissing a petition challenging its news distortion policy without a full commission vote.
- The original petition, backed by former FCC leaders including Tom Wheeler and Mark Fowler, sought repeal of the news distortion rule, claiming it chills editorial independence.
- Gomez argued the procedural dismissal by Acting Media Bureau Chief Alex Sanjenis effectively shields the issue from judicial review, preventing courts from weighing the policy’s legality.
Anna Gomez, the lone Democratic commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has offered a late public criticism of her agency’s decision to dismiss a challenge over its long-standing news distortion rules.
In a statement released this week, Gomez said the dismissed petition improperly shields the matter from being subjected to judicial review — in other words, from having a judge determine the legality or constitutionality of the policy — and raises broader concerns about the FCC’s treatment of broadcasters over the past year.
The statement follows a decision first reported by The Desk last month in which the FCC’s Acting Media Bureau Chief Alex Sanjenis dismissed a Petition for Special Relief brought by numerous former FCC officials and media advocates. Sanjenis concluded the petition was procedurally defective because the FCC’s rules governing petitions for special relief apply only to cable matters and not to the relief requested by the petitioners.
In a dissent released this week, Gomez acknowledged that her opposition would not change the outcome but argued commissioners should have been allowed to vote on the matter.
“Not providing the Commissioners with an opportunity to vote on this important petition, however, shields the Commission’s actions from critical judicial review,” Gomez said.
Despite the dismissal, Gomez said she is ready to vote on the matter should it be brought again.
The original petition was filed in November 2025 by a bipartisan group of former FCC commissioners, chairmen and senior officials, including Tom Wheeler, Mark Fowler, Dennis Patrick and Alfred Sikes. The group argued the FCC should repeal its news distortion policy, contending it has become a vehicle for chilling protected speech and editorial independence.
After the commission failed to act, the petitioners sought a writ of mandamus from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to compel an FCC decision. Gomez noted the commission responded to that proceeding by attaching what she described as an unpublished letter from Sanjenis dismissing the petition.
Gomez was particularly critical of relying on delegated authority rather than a vote by the full commission: She argued the FCC has increasingly used its regulatory authority to pressure broadcasters over news coverage, citing license renewals, merger reviews and renewed reliance on the agency’s news distortion policy. Gomez also referenced the commission’s revival of an early broadcast license renewal process that had not been used in decades, saying such actions risk undermining editorial independence.
“When a federal agency with the power to grant or revoke broadcast licenses starts weighing in on editorial content, the chilling effect reaches far beyond any single station or story,” Gomez said.
She further warned that while delegated authority serves an important administrative function, it should not be used to prevent meaningful judicial review of significant policy decisions. She argued that only final actions taken by the full commission are generally subject to appellate review, making procedural decisions such as the dismissal potentially significant beyond the immediate case.
The late dissent comes around the same time that Gomez’s term at the FCC officially concludes. Her last day as an appointed commissioner was June 30, though she is allowed to remain in her position until President Donald Trump appoints a successor.
To date, Trump has only appointed or promoted Republicans at the FCC, with Brendan Carr tapped to serve as the agency’s chairman and Olivia Trusty named to a vacant seat last year. Trump has declined to fill two vacancies at the FCC since then; under existing law, Trump is only allowed to appoint one other Republican, which means the second seat must involve a person from another political party, though not necessarily a Democrat.
By not filling the vacant seats, Trump has effectively preserved the Republican’s majority vote at the agency.
