President Trump on Monday officially designated net neutrality critic Ajit Pai as Federal Communications Commission chairman. Pai, who’s been a commissioner at the FCC since 2012, called the appointment “deeply humbling.”
Though he was appointed to the FCC by President Obama, Pai has been a vocal critic of the former president’s net neutrality rules. After voting against the rules in 2015, Pai wrote, “Obama’s plan to regulate the Internet isn’t the solution to a problem. His plan is the problem.”
In the same dissent, Pai said he was optimistic that a future commission would overturn the regulations, calling their passage a “temporary deviation from the bipartisan path that’s served us so well.”
Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., released a letter to President Trump criticizing his appointment of Pai. In the letter, Cantwell said Pai’s opposition to net neutrality would harm consumers and threaten the “open and free” internet. Cantwell has been vocal proponent of net neutrality, telling Congress in 2014 that it should be “the law of the land.”
Bellevue, Wash.-based wireless carrier T-Mobile has said it’s looking forward to a relaxed regulatory environment under President Trump’s administration. Earlier this month, T-Mobile CEO John Legere said, “It’s hard not to be excited as a carrier on the potential items associated with a regulatory environment that’s going to be less restrictive and more open, whether it’s on industry structure or on some of the areas where we’ve been pushing.”
In December, Pai wrote that he plans to revisit net neutrality laws “as soon as possible.” He also compared the FCC’s regulations to a thick underbrush in a speech, saying “we need to fire up the weed whacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation.”
After Monday’s announcement, Pai tweeted about finding bipartisan solutions to promote innovation. He said he looks forward to working with Congress to “bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans.”
This afternoon, I was informed that @POTUS @realDonaldTrump designated me the 34th Chairman of the @FCC. It is a deeply humbling honor. pic.twitter.com/Joza18aP33
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) January 23, 2017
I look forward to working with the new Administration, @FCC colleagues, members of #Congress, and the public on behalf of all Americans.
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) January 23, 2017
There is so much we can do together to bring the benefits of the digital age to all Americans and to promote innovation and investment.
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) January 23, 2017
From broadband to broadcast, I believe in a 21st-century version of Jefferson's 2nd Inaugural: we are all Republicans, we are all Democrats.
— Ajit Pai (@AjitPaiFCC) January 23, 2017
