Trump Taps Icahn

President-elect Donald Trump has named investor Carl Icahn as a special advisor to the President on regulatory reform.

Icahn will be advising the President as an individual, will not be a member of the Administration, or a federal employee, and will not have any specific duties other than providing advice and counse, according to the transition team.

Trump has pledged to eliminate two regulations for every one added and initially impose a moratorium on new federal regs, though that would not apply to independent agencies like the FCC and Federal Trade Commission.

Related: Icahn Wants Role in Gannett Split

"Carl was with me from the beginning and with his being one of the world’s great businessmen, that was something I truly appreciated," President-elect Trump said in a statement. "He is not only a brilliant negotiator, but also someone who is innately able to predict the future especially having to do with finances and economies. His help on the strangling regulations that our country is faced with will be invaluable.”

Related: Icahn Wants Role in Gannett Split

Icahn is a familiar name in media and tech investment circles. His investments  have included Gulf + Western, Viacom, Time Warner, Motorola, Dell, Netflix, Apple, and eBay.

John Eggerton

Contributing editor John Eggerton has been an editor and/or writer on media regulation, legislation and policy for over four decades, including covering the FCC, FTC, Congress, the major media trade associations, and the federal courts. In addition to Multichannel News and Broadcasting + Cable, his work has appeared in Radio World, TV Technology, TV Fax, This Week in Consumer Electronics, Variety and the Encyclopedia Britannica.