FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel To Depart Agency On January 20

Jessica Rosenworcel, the first woman to serve as permanent FCC chair, will depart the agency on January 20, the day of Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Rosenworcel’s announcement this morning came after Trump announced that a fellow commissioner, Republican Brendan Carr, would serve as FCC chairman in the new administration.

Rosenworcel’s exit will allow Trump to appoint a third commissioner, giving Republicans a 3-2 majority. Her five-year term on the commission was set to expire on June 30.

In a statement, Rosenworcel said, “Serving at the Federal Communications Commission has been the honor of a lifetime, especially my tenure as Chair and as the first woman in history to be confirmed to lead this agency.  I want to thank President Biden for entrusting me with the responsibility to guide the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life.  Taking the oath of office on the street outside of the agency during the height of the pandemic, when so much of our day-to-day moved online, made clear how important the work of the FCC is and how essential it is for us to build a digital future that works for everyone.”

Rosenworcel also cited the setting up of “the largest broadband affordability program in history, which included connecting “more than 23 million households to high-speed internet. ” She also cited the launch of the first-ever Space Bureau at the agency.

Rosenworcel and the agency’s two Democrats, Geoffrey Starks and Anna Gomez, voted earlier this year to reinstate net neutrality rules. An appellate court has stayed the rules as industry groups challenge their legal footing.