Complete Story
11/15/2016
What to Expect from a Trump FCC
In the wake of a generally-unexpected election outcome, most everyone in the Internet space is grasping to understand the implications of an all Republican-led government and a Trump FCC, on their key issues.
The purpose of this analysis is to spotlight and explain the most predictable changes to expect. By design, it is not comprehensive, because some issues are naturally less predictable than others.
To be most accurate, this analysis will be high-level and strategic, not detailed and tactical, because the “what” and the “why” here are more predictable at this early stage than the specific “how,” “when,” and “who” -- for obvious practical reasons.
- Why are some issues very predictable at this early stage?
First, the simple, hiding-in-plain-sight, premise here, is the process/values clarity and predictability that naturally flow from unified one-party control of the levers of government.
This is the fourth time in eighteen years there will be unified one-party control of government: the Democrats had it 1993-94 and 2009-10; and Republicans had it 2003-06 and now in 2017-18. History confirms the high-level strategic predictability of one-party control of the levers of government.
Second, there is very substantial Republican unity and hence predictability on most FCC-related issues, a reality many outside observers don’t yet appreciate, largely because of the exceptional groupthink of the Silicon Valley monoculture and their supporting tech media -- that has driven much of the FCC’s agenda over the last several years.
Third, unlike the Obama Administration, where Silicon Valley, Internet, and FCC issues commanded unprecedented, Presidential/White House attention and priority, the plethora of very different Trump/Republican priorities, interests, and constituencies practically will demote FCC-related issues generally back to the sub-cabinet and agency level where they were handled in the last Republican-controlled government.
Fourth, most all major Obama Administration and FCC decisions over the last few years flowed from the overarching political strategy to bypass Congress and de facto govern from the Executive Branch via Executive Order and 3-2 majority rule at regulatory agencies like the FCC.
The election has overturned the tent-pole premise upholding the viability of that strategy, that Democrats would maintain control of the Executive Branch for the foreseeable future, and with that, de facto control of the D.C. Court of Appeals that oversees the legality of regulatory agencies’ actions.
Finally, one of the single most unifying priorities in a Trump Administration and Republican Congress will be the rolling back of the Obama Administration’s many extra-legal, partisan, executive and regulatory decisions that steamrolled strong Republican Senate/House opposition over the past few years.
