Democrat Rosenworcel’s Progressive FCC Legacy Resides on Wikipedia, Not in the Federal Code

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Jessica: It may have been premature in December 2024 for New Street Research policy advisorBlair Levin to declare that Democratic FCC ChairwomanJessica Rosenworcel had “the least consequential term as Chair in modern FCC history.” But not anymore. Today, Rosenworcel’s tenure has effectively been erased by the courts and by her successor, Republican FCC ChairmanBrendan Carr.

Rosenworcel’s chairmanship was structurally weakened from the start. She had only 16 months with a Democratic majority because CommissionerAnna Gomez did not arrive until Sept. 25, 2023, following the Gigi Sohn nomination collapse. In that narrow window, Rosenworcel pursued an ambitious progressive agenda to reshape broadband policy, expand the agency’s reach into education, and generally tighten oversight of the communications industry. But nearly every major pillar of that agenda has now been dismantled.

Former Democratic FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel

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