Sen. Joe Manchin (D-WV) said he would oppose President Joe Biden’s FCC nominee, Gigi Sohn, saying that Sohn cannot rise above her “toxic partisanship.”
“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 in a statement.
Manchin’s opposition to Sohn could likely sink her nomination to serve at the FCC. Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) is still in the hospital being treated for clinical depression, and if one more Democrat opposes her, it could effectively tank her nomination.
Democrats are reportedly increasingly fretting that Sohn will not be confirmed to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
Sohn’s nomination stalled after a contentious Senate Commerce Committee hearing weeks ago, and Senate Commerce Committee chair Maria Cantwell (D-WA), has not scheduled a vote to advance her nomination out of committee.
Sen. Jacky Rosen (D-NV) has remained skeptical about Sohn, and the Fraternal Order of Police has continued to oppose Sohn’s nomination because of her anti-police rhetoric.
Gigi Sohn, who is President Joe Biden’s nominee to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, testifies before the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, Wednesday, February 9, 2022, during her nomination hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
“I’d like to echo concerns raised about the nominee’s positions on matters of importance for law enforcement, both nationally and in Nevada,” Rosen said during the February 14 hearing.
Many of the controversies surrounding Sohn led to her not being confirmed during the last Congress.
The National Association of Police Organizations in a letter in early February said that Sohn’s anti-police rhetoric should disqualify her from the position.
William Johnson, the executive director of the association of police organizations, noted that Sohn once retweeted someone who called law enforcement officers “armed goons in riot gear with tear gas” while she defended rioters. He also noted that she has boosted calls from those who argued for “defunding the police.”
C-SPAN
Sean Moran is a policy reporter for Breitbart News. Follow him on Twitter @SeanMoran3.
