Senate Commerce Committee to Vote on FCC Nominees

RADIO ONLINE | Friday, July 7, 2023

Federal Communications Commission

The Senate Commerce Committee will vote next week on the nomination of Anna Gomez as a new FCC Commissioner and the renominations of Democrat Geoffrey Starks and Republican Brendan Carr for their respective seats. The vote will be July 12 at 10am. If the nominations are approved, as expected, the FCC would contain five members for the first time in over two years, giving the Commission a Democratic majority. Earlier this year, his previous nomination Gigi Sohn withdrew her name after more than two years of partisan deadlock.

Anna M. Gomez is a telecommunications attorney with extensive experience in domestic and international communications law and policy. She serves as a Senior Advisor for International Information and Communications Policy in the Bureau of Cyberspace and Digital Policy. Gomez served as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration Deputy Administrator from 2009 to 2013. Gomez also served for 12 years in various positions at the FCC, including as Deputy Chief of the International Bureau and as Senior Legal Advisor to then-Chairman William E. Kennard.

Gomez also served briefly as Counsel on the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation Subcommittee on Communication and as Deputy Chief of Staff of the National Economic Council during the Clinton Administration. Prior to joining the State Department in 2023, Gomez was a partner in Wiley LLP's telecommunications media and technology group. Gomez also was Vice president for Federal and State Government Affairs at Sprint Nextel and an Associate at Arnold and Porter.

Throughout his career, Geoffrey Starks has focused on creating access to high quality broadband for every American including rural America. While serving at the FCC he has worked to make networks more secure. Starks previously served as Assistant Bureau Chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau. Before joining the Commission in 2015, Starks served as Senior Counsel to the Deputy Attorney General at the U.S. Department of Justice, where he received the Department's highest employee service award, the Attorney General's Award for Exceptional Service.

Prior to his government service, Starks practiced law at Williams & Connolly. He earned his A.B. in Social Studies magna cum laude from Harvard College and his J.D. from the Yale Law School, where he served on the Yale Law Journal. He currently resides in Washington, DC with his wife, Lauren, and their two children.

Brendan Carr first joined the agency as a staffer in 2012. In his time on the Commission, Carr has focused on expanding affordable, high-speed Internet service to all Americans. Carr also leads a telehealth initiative at the FCC, the Connected Care Pilot Program, which supports the delivery of high-quality care to low-income Americans and veterans. Prior to his current role, Carr served as the FCC's General Counsel and before that as a staffer in multiple offices at the Commission.

Before joining the agency, Carr clerked for Judge Dennis Shedd on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit and worked as a lawyer in the private sector. Carr earned his B.A. from Georgetown University and his J.D. magna cum laude from the Catholic University of America's Columbus School of Law where he served as an editor of the Catholic University Law Review. He lives in Virginia with his wife and three young boys.