Ajit Pai to be Named New FCC Chairman
By Pamela J. Garvie, Andrew C. Glass, Joseph C. Wylie II, Gregory N. Blase, and Molly K. McGinley
On Friday, January 20, 2017, shortly after the conclusion of the presidential inauguration, news broke that Ajit Pai, a Republican Commissioner on the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC” or “Commission”) and its acting Chairman, will be named the permanent Chairman of the FCC. Commissioner Pai will assume the permanent chairmanship from former Chairman Tom Wheeler, who resigned effective January 20, 2017. Because Commissioner Pai is a sitting member of the FCC, his appointment as permanent chair does not require Senate confirmation.