Trump Rescinds O’Rielly Nomination at FCC

FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly
FCC commissioner Michael O'Rielly (Image credit: FCC)

Michael O’Rielly’s renomination as an FCC commissioner was rescinded by President Trump Monday, according to published reports.

O’Rielly was originally nominated to the FCC by President Barack Obama and was sworn in November 2013. He was sworn into a second term in 2015. His term expired in June.

Related: Trump renominated O’Rielly in March

O'Rielly is a conservative who generally favors deregulation, including of ISPs and lifting media ownership rules given the rise of competition from cable and broadband and satellite, and was instrumental in loosening KidVid regs on TV stations.   

The renomination of O’Rielly for another term was reportedly put on hold in July by Senator Jim Inhofe because of the FCC’s decision to allow Ligado Networks to deploy a lower-power national mobile broadband network. 

Jon Lafayette

Jon has been business editor of Broadcasting+Cable since 2010. He focuses on revenue-generating activities, including advertising and distribution, as well as executive intrigue and merger and acquisition activity. Just about any story is fair game, if a dollar sign can make its way into the article. Before B+C, Jon covered the industry for TVWeek, Cable World, Electronic Media, Advertising Age and The New York Post. A native New Yorker, Jon is hiding in plain sight in the suburbs of Chicago.