Biden FCC pick Gigi Sohn's scheduled committee vote gets pulled
The White House announced Sohn's nomination in October
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}A confirmation vote scheduled in the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday for Gigi Sohn, one of President Biden's nominees to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has been pulled.
In addition to the confirmation vote being pulled, a Senate aide also confirmed to Fox News that a request from Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., for an additional hearing into Sohn’s conflicts of interest has been granted.
Sources tell Fox News another hearing on Sohn's nomination will be held on Feb. 9.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Gigi Sohn testifies before the House Judiciary Committee's Antitrust, Commercial and Administrative Law Subcommittee in the Rayburn House Office Building on Capitol Hill March 12, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
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In a statement last month, Wicker called for a new hearing into Sohn, specifically her time on the board at Locast — a broadcast TV streaming service that was shuttered after it lost a copyright infringement lawsuit brought by ABC, CBS, FOX and NBC. Wicker was provided a confidential copy of a settlement agreement reached over Locast, provided by the four broadcast networks.
"My initial review of the confidential settlement raises several troubling questions about Ms. Sohn’s nomination," Wicker said. "The possibility of the nominee’s future financial liability to a number of companies regulated by the FCC, and the timing of this settlement in relation to her nomination, demands a full discussion by the committee to ensure that there is a clear understanding of the ability for this nominee to act without any cloud of ethical doubt."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Sen. Roger Wicker, R-Miss., listens as FAA Administrator Stephen Dickson speaks during a hearing before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation on Nov. 3, 2021 in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Joshua Roberts/Getty Images)
"The committee needs to hold a new hearing on this matter to provide the nominee an opportunity to fully address these concerns," he added.
Republicans fear that Sohn, who previously led a liberal group called Public Knowledge, would weaponize the agency for political purposes.
Sohn has called on the FCC to "look at whether" Sinclair Broadcast, which is known as a conservative-leaning company, "is qualified to be a broadcast licensee at all." She ridiculed Supreme Court Justice Brett Kavanaugh as an "angry white man" during his confirmation hearings.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}She has donated roughly $30,000 to Democrats over the last two decades, including $6,675 to Obama for America and Obama Victory Fund, according to Federal Election Commission (FEC) records. She also donated almost $5,000 to President Biden’s 2020 campaign and $1,861 to Hillary Clinton’s failed 2016 presidential campaign.
Gigi Sohn speaks during a House communications and technology subcommittee hearing in Washington, D.C., on Wednesday, June 27, 2012. (Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
"Sohn is a deeply divisive pick with a track record of hard-left advocacy," a former FCC official told Fox News in November.
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{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Her public animus towards mainstream conservative outlets renders her unfit to serve as a regulator over the communications industry," the official added, speaking on condition of anonymity to avoid professional repercussions.
The White House praised Sohn when announcing her nomination in October, stating that she has defended broadband access for years and noting she would be the first openly LGBTIQ+ FCC commissioner.
Fox News' Peter Hasson and Cameron Cawthorne contributed to this article.