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By David Shepardson
WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The U.S. Senate voted on Tuesday to confirm Republican Senate aide Olivia Trusty to serve on the Federal Communications Commission, days after two members of the telecommunications regulator resigned.
Democratic FCC Commissioner Geoffrey Starks and Republican Nathan Simington stepped down on June 6. Trusty was confirmed to serve a term that lasts through June 30.
A second vote is planned Wednesday for Trusty to serve a five-year term starting on July 1.
The vote comes as President Donald Trump has pressured Republican FCC Chair Brendan Carr to strip CBS, which is owned by Paramount Global, of its broadcast licenses. Trump sued CBS News seeking $20 billion over its editing of a "60 Minutes" interview in October 2024 with then-Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris.
CBS has denied that there was anything unusual in its editing of the Harris interview.
Carr rejected a bid from CBS to dismiss the complaint, alleging the Harris interview violated the FCC’s "news distortion" rules.
CBS is seeking FCC approval for an $8.4 billion merger with Skydance Media. Carr has given no time frame for when the FCC might act on the merger.
Trump has fired Democratic commissioners on other independent agencies including the Federal Trade Commission.
Senator Maria Cantwell, the top Democrat on the committee overseeing the FCC, opposed Trusty’s nomination.
"Given President Trump’s alarming record of seeking to illegally fire Democrats on independent commissions like the FCC, I remain seriously concerned that this administration will try to illegally terminate Democratic Commissioner Anna Gomez," Cantwell said.
In January, Carr reinstated complaints about the "60 Minutes" interview with Harris, as well as complaints about how Walt Disney (NYSE:DIS)’s ABC News moderated the pre-election TV debate between then-President Joe Biden and Trump.
The FCC also reinstated complaints against Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA)’s NBC for allowing Harris to appear on "Saturday Night Live" shortly before the election.
Carr also pressured Verizon (NYSE:VZ) to roll back its diversity, equity and inclusion program before the FCC agreed to approve its $20 billion deal to acquire fiber-optic internet provider Frontier Communications (OTC:FTRCQ).