Federal Communications Commission(WASHINGTON) — Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, has announced that he will step down on Jan. 20, Bloomberg reports. He will leave his position the same day that President-elect Donald Trump is sworn into office.
“Serving as FCC chairman during this period of historic technological change has been the greatest honor of my professional life,” Wheeler, a Democrat, said in a statement. “I am deeply grateful to the president for giving me this opportunity.”
The FCC regulates all radio, television, wire, satellite and cable communications in the country, including the internet. Under President Obama, the agency passed so-called “net neutrality” rules that regulate how internet service providers treat web traffic.
Ajit Pai, a Republican FCC commissioner who may serve as acting chairman after Jan. 20, has called for decreased regulation of the communications industry. In a Dec. 7 speech, he said the FCC needs to “fire up the weed whacker” on net neutrality, ownership and privacy rules.
The Trump administration will now be able to nominate candidates to fill the empty seats on the five-member panel, leaving it with a Republican majority.
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