FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel to Step Down After Trump Takes Office

FCC Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel announced that she intends to depart the agency on Jan. 20, 2025, when President-elect Donald Trump assumes office.

Trump has picked Brendan Carr, the senior Republican commissioner at the FCC, as the agency’s new chairman. Trump first nominated Carr to the FCC in 2017. Rosenworcel’s exit will leave an opening for Trump to appoint a new FCC commissioner and establish a 3-2 GOP majority at the commission.

Rosenworcel in a statement Wednesday said: “Serving at the Federal Communications Commission has been the honor of a lifetime, especially my tenure as Chair and as the first woman in history to be confirmed to lead this agency. I want to thank President Biden for entrusting me with the responsibility to guide the FCC during a time when communications technology is a part of every aspect of civic and commercial life. Taking the oath of office on the street outside of the agency during the height of the pandemic, when so much of our day-to-day moved online, made clear how important the work of the FCC is and how essential it is for us to build a digital future that works for everyone.”

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Rosenworcel, a Democrat, was originally nominated as an FCC commissioner by President Obama and she was named the agency’s chair by President Biden.

“I am proud to have served at the FCC alongside some of the hardest working and dedicated public servants I have ever known,” Rosenworcel said. She cited accomplishments under her tenure, including connecting more than 23 million households to broadband and connecting more than 17 million students caught in “the homework gap” to WiFi hotspots and other devices. The FCC also launched the first-ever Space Bureau under Rosenworcel.

Rosenworcel added, “I also want to thank my husband, daughter, and son for their support throughout my time at the FCC. Public service is not without sacrifice, and I am looking forward to spending more time with my family and rescue pup in the days ahead.”