Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) has been probing the FCC’s dealings with LightSquared, and to express his displeasure with what he sees as the FCC’s lack of cooperation, he has blocked the confirmation of two would-be new FCC Commissioners.
However, it appears that the sort of documents he wants are starting to be discovered by his staff, and he told reporters that there is a chance the holds may be coming to an end.
The two nominees are Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel and Republican Ajit Pai. Both are considered to be knowledgeable about FCC matters, and indeed, both have stints with the Commission on their resumes.
More importantly, each is acceptable to members of the other party. They are expected to easily pass muster if a vote can ever be taken on the floor of the full Senate.
Sen. Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) was trying to get Grassley to end the hold while we were all still using 2011 calendars. Recent reports have suggested that even members of Grassley’s own party are beginning to tire of the holds, a suggestion Grassley aides have disputed.
After expressing initial dismay at the FCC’s second data dump, Grassley now seems to think there is material of value in it, and on top of that is expecting access to a third set of documents. If he finds what he wants, the waiting period for Rosenworcel and Pai may finally come to an end.
