By David Shepardson
(Reuters) - Federal Communications Commission Chair Jessica Rosenworcel said on Wednesday she will step down from the agency that oversees U.S. telecommunications companies on Jan. 20 when Donald Trump assumes the presidency.
Rosenworcel, who joined the FCC (BME:FCC) in 2012 and is the first female permanent chair, oversaw a dramatic expansion of commission work on space policy including the establishment of a Space Bureau.
She was also behind efforts to help more students get internet access, oversaw a government subsidy program to help 23 million households get broadband access and led an agency crackdown on the proliferation of Chinese telecoms equipment and other national security issues.
Rosenworcel said the job had been the honor of a lifetime, guiding "the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life."
She led efforts to restore landmark net neutrality rules that were reversed by the FCC under then President Donald Trump and have since been put on hold by a court.
Net neutrality rules require internet service providers to treat internet data and users equally rather than restricting access, slowing speeds or blocking content for certain users. A federal appeals court in August blocked the FCC from enforcing the rules while an industry legal challenge plays out.
Rosenworcel is following long-standing commission precedent by stepping down when a new president takes office, which will leave the commission divided 2-2 between Democratic and Republican appointees.
This week, Trump named FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, a critic of the Biden administration's telecom policies and Big Tech, as new chair effective Jan. 20. Trump will need to nominate a replacement for Rosenworcel and win Senate confirmation before Republicans can take full control of the agency.
Rosenworcel was hampered by the fact that the U.S. Senate did not confirm a third Democratic FCC commissioner until September 2023, which prevented the commission from moving ahead on many fronts.
She clashed with SpaceX CEO Elon Musk when the FCC in 2022 rescinded $885.5 million in rural broadband subsidies for SpaceX's internet satellite constellation Starlink. In September, Rosenworcel said the United States needs more competition for space-based internet.