Stalled Nominee Should be Replaced with Hispanic Candidate

WASHINGTON—Today, ALLvanza appealed to the White House and Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer to acknowledge that the nomination of Gigi Sohn for commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has permanently stalled, and to nominate a Hispanic candidate who can quickly secure the 50 Senate votes needed for confirmation.

President Biden nominated Sohn at the end of October 2021 after a long delay. While Sohn’s nomination has failed for nine months to generate the support needed to win confirmation, the resulting partisan deadlock at the FCC has undermined its ability to act on priorities that are important to the Hispanic community, such as promoting digital equity, media diversity, and tackling misinformation on the airwaves.

“A fully staffed FCC is essential to ensuring successful deployment of funds provided in the American Rescue Plan Act,” said ALLvanza President Rosa Mendoza. “If the White House doesn’t change course quickly, the FCC will continue into its third year under President Biden’s tenure without a full slate of commissioners.”

Mendoza added, “The administration should quickly move to break the impasse by nominating one of the many well qualified Hispanic candidates—like attorney Anna Gomez and business leader Felix Sanchez—who could secure a swift bipartisan confirmation and start delivering results for our community.  A March 2022 pollcommissioned by USHCC showed that a majority of Hispanic voters are less likely to support a nominee opposed by the Hispanic advocacy organizations, such as Sohn. The poll also found that Hispanic voters in key states critical to the 2022 midterm elections, like Arizona and Nevada, are even less likely to support Sohn.”