# Democrats oppose FCC nominee plan

> Senate Democrats reject Trump’s FCC nominee as partisan move.
- Title: Democrats oppose FCC nominee plan · Ars Technica | Shortify
- Summary: Senate Democrats reject Trump’s FCC nominee as partisan move. Senate Democrats oppose confirming Republican FCC nominee without paired Democratic candidate…
- Keywords: senate, fcc, democrats, republicans, brendan carr, danielle thumann severs, e-rate, abc licenses, jawbone act, Ars Technica
- Source: Ars Technica — https://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2026/11/democrats-oppose-plan-to-stack-fcc-with-republicans-plan-probes-of-chairman-carr
- Published: 2026-11-10T21:55:26+00:00
- Read time: 2 min
- Topics: senate, fcc, democrats, republicans, brendan carr, danielle thumann severs, e-rate, abc licenses, jawbone act, technology, science
## Senate Democrats oppose nominee
Senate Democrats today opposed President Trump’s nominee for an open Federal Communications Commission seat.
## Criticism of partisan timing
Democrats criticized Republicans for moving to confirm a new commissioner during the period before Democrats take control of Congress in January 2.
## Chairman Carr’s threats
Sen. Ed Markey accused Thumann Severs of evading questions about Carr’s threats to remove Jimmy Kimmel from airwaves.
## Thumann Severs’ response
Thumann Severs declined to identify policy disagreements with Carr and said she has not advised Carr on media-related topics.
## Luján’s timeline prediction
Sen. Ben Ray Luján predicted Chairman Carr will not be around more than three or four months after Democrats take control.
## E-Rate program concerns
Democrats criticized Thumann Severs for not clarifying whether FCC has authority to eliminate E-Rate, a $2 billion-a-year program.
## Duckworth’s independence warning
Sen. Tammy Duckworth warned Thumann Severs would be one of the votes deciding if FCC remains independent or becomes White House arm.
## E-Rate authority debate
Duckworth stated FCC cannot eliminate E-Rate without Congressional approval and criticized the timing.
## FCC majority threat
Sen. John Hickenlooper warned Trump could fire Democrat Commissioner Anna Gomez to give Republicans 3-0 majority.
## Thumann Severs’ independence
Hickenlooper questioned Thumann Severs’ independence, noting her role as Carr’s senior counsel and legal advisor.
## ABC license review
Senate Democrats questioned Thumann Severs about FCC’s early review of ABC station licenses.
## Thumann Severs’ response
Thumann Severs stated FCC must investigate complaints on merits, not based on someone’s discontent with content.
## Jawbone Act support
Thumann Severs supported the JAWBONE Act to enable lawsuits against officials coercing broadcasters into restricting speech.
## Democrats’ next steps
Democrats plan to use their majority next year to launch probes of FCC Chairman Carr.
## Key takeaway

Senate Democrats oppose confirming Republican FCC nominee without paired Democratic candidate, warning of a 3-0 Republican majority on the commission.