- Trump’s FCC nominee Danielle Thumann could give the agency a stronger GOP tilt as it weighs key telecom and media issues
- Thumann’s nomination comes as lone Democrat Anna Gomez faces pressure
- Telecom groups praised Thumann, but analyst Blair Levin warned the industry should care about whether the FCC keeps a minority voice
The short-staffed Federal Communications Commission (FCC) could soon be getting a new commissioner, after President Donald Trump nominated lawyer Danielle Thumann to fill one of two empty seats at the agency.
Thumann has already done two stints at the FCC, serving as a legal advisor to then-Commissioner Brendan Carr from 2021 to 2023 before returning to the same role in 2024. She was promoted to senior counsel for now Chairman Carr in January 2025. In between her roles at the FCC, Thumann worked as a senior government relations attorney at Crown Castle.
Cory Gardner, CEO of NCTA — The Internet & Television Association, in a statement hailed Thumann’s “deep expertise in communications law and policy, along with valuable experience across the FCC and the private sector.”
ACA Connects CEO Grant Spellmeyer similarly lauded Thumann as playing “an instrumental role in advancing critical initiatives to spur broadband deployment and unleash innovation.”
What the nomination means for the FCC
The FCC typically has five commissioners, with a three-member majority typically leaning in favor of the President’s political party. But the current FCC has been operating with three members since June 2025, when Olivia Trusty was appointed to take a seat following the departure of former Commissioner Nathan Simington. Trusty’s appointment gave the FCC the three-member quorum the body needed to continue operating.
Carr and Anna Gomez sit alongside Trusty in the current iteration of the FCC.
During her tenure as the only Democrat on the Republican-controlled FCC, Gomez has clashed with Carr over free speech, broadcast rights and more, though she has said she maintains a “collegial relationship” with the chairman. Still, she has publicly expressed concern that her views will get her fired by President Trump.
When the Supreme Court recently ruled that Trump could fire members of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) but not the Federal Reserve (the Fed), rumors abounded that Gomez would soon be ousted. However, there were two issues with this idea.
First, as analyst Blair Levin wrote in a recent blog for the Technology Policy Institute, it’s not clear that the Supreme Court decision would give Trump the authority to fire a member of the FCC. The argument could be made that a member of the FCC is more akin to a member of the Fed than an FTC Commissioner, Levin said.
Second, if Trump did fire Gomez before the FCC added a fourth member, the agency would lose its quorum and thus be crippled.
Gomez’s term ended on June 30, but under the law she is permitted to continue serving until the current session of Congress ends in January 2027. After that point, the FCC will revert to a body with three Republican members.
Levin told Fierce that Trump could try to fire Gomez, citing the Supreme Court decision. But Levin added he’s not sure how exactly that would benefit Trump given Carr already has a majority and noted it would more than likely spark a fresh round of court battles.
Business repercussions
The law stipulates that only three FCC members can be from the same political party, meaning that no more Republicans can be appointed unless Carr, Trusty or Thumann leaves. But it does not preclude a three-member quorum comprised entirely of the same party.
Asked if he expects Trump to fill the remaining empty FCC seat with a Democrat, Levin said "no." Instead, the President “might appoint someone who’s not a Republican but is a Trump person,” he said.
Though several telecom groups praised Thumann’s nomination, Levin said the business community should be thinking hard about what kind of playing field it wants at the FCC.
“Industry has to ask itself, what are the rules we want when it’s no longer Trump?” he said. “What the business community ought to want is an FCC where there’s always a minority member. Why? Because if you’re not being favored, you want that minority member to be able to raise certain objections when the order is filed to increase your chanches of winning in court.”