Gus Hurwitz on Ajit Pai’s departure as director of FCC

The Washington Times – ICLE Director of Law & Economics Programs Gus Hurwitz was quoted in The Washington Times on the pending departure of Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai.

‘I think a lot of folks are waiting with bated breath to see a lot about what plays out in the FCC, in particular, who the new chair is going to be; if the Republicans are able to get their currently vacant seat filled,’ said Gus Hurwitz, the director of the Nebraska Governance and Technology Center.

Mr. Pai’s January exit will provide Mr. Biden the opportunity to move more quickly to install a new head of the FCC. Mr. Biden has tapped John Williams, a senior counsel on the House Judiciary Committee, to lead the Biden team’s review of the FCC and chart the path forward for the agency.

While a Biden administration may want to move quickly to advance its agenda, undoing the Trump administration’s policies may dominate its early work.

‘Any change substantively in policy will probably be incremental and somewhat slow-moving through the FCC because so much stuff has already been put into motion,’ Mr. Hurwitz said. ‘It will take going through the rule making process in order to change what’s already in motion.’