Jessica Rosenworcel Nominated As First Female Chair Of The FCC

On Tuesday (Oct. 26), President Joe Biden announced his nomination of Jessica Rosenworcel to lead the Federal Communications Commission. If approved by the Senate, she would become the first woman to serve in the role in the agency’s nearly 100-year history.

Rosenworcel has been a commissioner at the FCC since 2012 and is currently the acting chairwoman, of which she’s the second woman to do so. She served as senior communications counsel for the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation under the leadership of Senator John D. Rockefeller IV and Senator Daniel Inouye before joining the FCC.

“It’s the honor of a lifetime to be designated to serve as FCC Chair,” Rosenworcel shared on Twitter. “I wouldn’t be here without those who came before and paved the way.”

It’s the honor of a lifetime to be designated to serve as FCC Chair. Thank you @POTUS, my family, my mentors. I wouldn’t be here without those who came before and paved the way. Looking forward to working with @gigibsohn and @abdavidson so that modern communications reach all.

— Jessica Rosenworcel (@JRosenworcelFCC) October 26, 2021

In a statement announcing Rosenworcel’s formal nomination, the White House said that during her time at the FCC, she has “fought to protect an open internet, to ensuring broadband access for students caught in the Homework Gap through the FCC’s Emergency Connectivity Fund, to making sure that households struggling to afford internet service stay connected through the Emergency Broadband Benefit program, she has been a champion for connectivity for all.”

Rosenworcel has worked to develop new ways to support wireless services from Wi-Fi to video and the Internet of Things. She has also fought to combat illegal robocalls and enhance consumer protections in the FCC’s telecommunications policies.

“I am deeply humbled to be designated as Chair of the Federal Communications Commission by President Biden. It is an honor to work with my colleagues on the Commission and the agency’s talented staff to ensure that no matter who you are or where you live, everyone has the connections they need to live, work, and learn in the digital age,” Rosenworcel added in the statement.

Rosenworcel also displayed her excitement to be nominated with two other newly announced nominees–Gigi Sohn, a nominee for commissioner of the FCC, and Alan Davidson, the nominee to be an assistant secretary for Communications and Information at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration at the Department of Commerce.