The Senate Commerce Committee has scheduled a confirmation hearing for Danielle Thumann Severs, President Donald Trump’s nominee to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), as congressional Democrats push for the renomination of the agency’s lone Democratic commissioner.
The hearing is scheduled for Tuesday, November 10, under Committee Chairman Ted Cruz, after being postponed from September 17 following the birth of Severs’ child.
Severs, who serves as Senior Counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, was nominated in August to fill the Republican seat previously held by Nathan Simington, who departed the Commission earlier this year. Her nomination is for a five-year term beginning retroactively on July 1, 2024.
If confirmed, Severs would join Carr and Commissioner Olivia Trusty as the agency’s third Republican member.
The nomination has drawn objections from congressional Democrats concerned about the future of bipartisan representation at the FCC.
In an October 29 letter to Senate Majority Leader John Thune and Cruz, 21 Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee urged Senate Republicans not to confirm another Republican commissioner without securing continued Democratic representation.
The lawmakers specifically requested the renomination of Anna Gomez, whose term expired June 30. Gomez continues serving in holdover status while awaiting a potential replacement or renomination.
“The Commission functions as intended only when both parties have a seat at the table,” the lawmakers wrote. “Confirming an additional Republican nominee without also securing continued Democratic representation would upset that balance.”
The letter cited Gomez’s work on broadband affordability, communications security and international telecommunications policy, along with her defense of broadcasters’ editorial independence.
Gomez has emerged as one of the most outspoken critics of Carr’s leadership, particularly concerning the Commission’s use of broadcast licensing and enforcement authority. She has repeatedly warned that the FCC’s public interest obligations should not be used to pressure broadcasters over editorial decisions, and has opposed proposals to loosen television station ownership restrictions.
In their letter, Democrats argued that the Communications Act’s partisan membership restrictions were intended to ensure competing viewpoints are represented when the agency considers telecommunications and broadcasting policy.
“We will not agree with every commissioner on every issue,” the lawmakers wrote. “That is precisely why Congress established a multi-member commission with meaningful representation from both parties.”
Severs previously served as Legal Advisor in Carr’s office from March 2021 through July 2023 before moving to the private sector, where she worked on government relations for a telecommunications infrastructure company. She returned to the FCC in August 2024, advising Carr on matters involving the Wireline Competition Bureau, Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau and Consumer and Governmental Affairs Bureau. Before joining the Commission, Severs practiced communications law at Wilkinson Barker Knauer in Washington, D.C.
The November 10 hearing will also consider three other presidential nominees: Leslie Becera for Assistant Secretary of Transportation, Joshua Shoemaker for Chief Financial Officer of NASA and Robert Steinau for NASA Inspector General.
