FCC Pick Gigi Sohn Blamed 'Dark Money.' Jean-Pierre: She Would Have Been 'an Excellent Political Official' (March 7, 2023)

When President Joe Biden’s pick for the Federal Communications Commission withdrew, she blamed her critics. Gigi Sohn told The Washington Post that her nomination failed because of “unrelenting, dishonest, and cruel attacks,” a reporter told press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. Sohn called it “a sad day for our country” and “our democracy when dominant industries, with assistance from unlimited dark money, get to choose their regulators” [1].

“Is that what’s happened here? Is that why the nomination failed?” the reporter asked [1].

Jean-Pierre did not say. Instead she praised Sohn, who she said “would have been an excellent political official in this role” [1].

The video above shows the exchange from the March 7, 2023, White House briefing. Quotes are from the official transcript published by the American Presidency Project and the Senate hearing record [1][2].

”An Excellent Political Official”

“What I can speak to is her candidacy and how important it was for this — for this critical role that she was nominated for. The President clearly nominated her because — and I said this — she was — she was tremendously — she has tremendous intellect and experience,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

“And we thought and we, you know, believed that she was — she would be a — a great — a great — is a great candidate and would have been an excellent political official in this role. And so, it is, clearly, unfortunate,” she said [1].

Earlier in the briefing, Jean-Pierre had offered thanks “to Chair Cantwell and others for supporting the work of this nomination.” On a new pick, she said, “we don’t have any updates to share at this time” [1].

”Toxic Partisanship”

The opposition was not only Republican. That same day, Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said he would not support her. “Especially now, the FCC must remain above the toxic partisanship that Americans are sick and tired of, and Ms. Sohn has clearly shown she is not the person to do that,” Manchin said. “For those reasons, I cannot support her nomination to the FCC, and I urge the Biden administration to put forth a nominee who can bring us together, not drive us apart,” Fox News reported [3].

The FCC was split two Republicans and two Democrats, and “Sohn would have been the tie-breaking vote if she had been confirmed,” Fox reported [3].

”State-Sponsored Propaganda”

At Sohn’s third confirmation hearing, on Feb. 14, 2023, Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, laid out the case against her. Sohn, he said, “has urged the FCC to revoke Sinclair’s broadcast licenses” and had called Fox News “dangerous to our democracy” [2].

The hearing record includes her 2020 tweet about Fox News: “I believe that Fox News has had the most negative impact on our democracy. It’s state-sponsored propaganda, with few if any opposing viewpoints” [2].

Cruz also accused her of promoting anti-police views. “It is no surprise that her nomination is opposed by multiple law enforcement groups, including the Fraternal Order of Police and the National Sheriffs Association,” he said [2].

”Do You Believe Joe Manchin Is Corrupt?”

Cruz then turned to a group Sohn had donated to, Fight for the Future, which put up a billboard in West Virginia in 2017 “attacking Senator Joe Manchin, a Democrat.” “Ms. Sohn, do you believe Joe Manchin is corrupt?” Cruz asked. “Absolutely not,” she said [2].

“When you say actively, I give every single organization with whom I work on net neutrality $100 contributions at the end of the year. It doesn’t mean I agree with their tactics,” Sohn said [2].

Cruz also said that while her nomination was pending, “you have made 12 separate political contributions to Senators running for office.” “Senator, I am a citizen who just wanted to participate in the democratic process,” Sohn answered [2].

And he raised the settlement of a broadcasters’ lawsuit over Locast, a streaming service run by a nonprofit where Sohn, by her own account, “served as a board member from March 2020 to May 2022.” Cruz said she “actively misled Ranking Member Wicker when he asked you in writing about the $32 million settlement,” which he said was “only 2 percent of that amount, $700,000.” “No. I answered Senator Wicker’s question honestly, and on advice of counsel,” Sohn said [2].

”Not the Place for Partisan Activists”

After she withdrew, Cruz called it “a major victory [that] represents a strong bipartisan agreement that we need a fair and impartial candidate who can receive the support needed for confirmation.” “The FCC is not the place for partisan activists; free speech is too important,” he said [3].

”Very Trump-Like”

A reporter asked whether Biden was quietly adopting Trump’s border policies. “Just another follow-up on immigration. Not asking about the detaining migrant families at all or any rumors around that. But just given what we’ve seen from the White House in recent months, including the new asylum rule, is this basically an acknowledgment that without legislation from Congress, the policies that the President previously opposed, he now thinks are necessary in conjunction with some of those legal pathways that you mentioned?” [1]

“So let me just — there’s a couple of things that I want to say about that. A lot of people have compared what the President is doing as either extending what Trump did or being very Trump-like, and I just want to make sure that that is not — that is not what is happening here,” Jean-Pierre said [1].

She then went down a list of attacks on Trump, including this one: “Trump funneled billions of dollars from military to build a useless wall, and what we did is we stopped that wall construction and returned the money to support military schools and also equipment.” [1]

Seven months later, the Biden administration waived federal laws to build more border wall in Texas. For that, see HYGO News’ page on Oct. 5, 2023.

By the Numbers

3: Senate confirmation hearings Sohn faced [2].
12: political contributions to senators Cruz said she made while her nomination was pending [2].
$700,000: the Locast settlement Cruz cited, “only 2 percent” of $32 million [2].
2-2: the FCC’s party split while her nomination stalled [3].
October 2021: when the White House first nominated her [3].

What Happened Next

Biden tried again. On June 22, 2023, the Senate Commerce Committee took up a new FCC nominee, Anna Gomez, along with Geoffrey Starks and Brendan Carr [4].

The courts threw out net neutrality. The FCC’s new net neutrality order was published May 22, 2024. On Jan. 2, 2025, a federal appeals court struck it down. “For these reasons, we grant the petitions for review and set aside the FCC’s Safeguarding Order,” the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit ruled [5].

Trump put Carr in charge. Brendan Carr was “Confirmed unanimously by the Senate three times,” the FCC says, and “President Trump designated him as Chairman on January 20, 2025” [6].

For more from Jean-Pierre’s podium, see HYGO News’ Karine Jean-Pierre record page.