WASHINGTON (UPDATED 3/19 @ 1:42 p.m.—Michael O’Rielly has been renominated by President Donald Trump to serve another five-year term as an FCC commissioner. The nomination was passed along to the Senate on March 18.
O’Rielly was originally appointed as an FCC commissioner after being nominated by then-President Barack Obama in 2013. If approved, this new five-year term would retroactively begin from July 1, 2019 and end in June 2024.
“I want to congratulate my friend and colleague, Commissioner Mike O’Rielly, on his renomination by the President to serve another term at the FCC,” said FCC Chairman Ajit Pai in a statement, who would go on to praise his work in areas like 3.5 GHz spectrum policy and fighting against misuse of 911 funding. “I look forward to continuing to work with Commissioner O’Rielly to advance the public interest and hope the Senate will act quickly to confirm his nomination.”
NAB President and CEO Gordon Smith also voiced his support for O’Rielly’s renomination, saying that he has served “with class, integrity and distinction.”
NATE President and CEO Todd Schlekeway also praised the news:
"Michael O'Rielly has been an outstanding FCC commissioner and NATE looks forward to continue collaborating with him on important policy issues ranging from workforce development, promoting deregulation to streamline infrastructure deployments, expanding broadband to rural and underserved regions of the country, public safety communications and increasing the industry's access to valuable spectrum."
O'Rielly himself offered comments on his renomination, expressing his appreciation for the president's decision.
"During my tenure at the commission, I have advocated for preserving and advancing American free market principles to develop common sense regulation and eliminate unnecessary rules that hurt consumers," O'Rielly said. "I hope to continue this work should the Senate decide to approve my nomination."
