US President-elect Donald Trump has announced he will appoint Brendan Carr, a vocal critic of the Joe Biden administration's telecommunications policies and big tech, as the new chair of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC). Carr, 45, currently serves as the leading Republican commissioner on the FCC, the independent agency responsible for overseeing telecommunications regulation.
Carr has been a critic of the FCC's decision to withhold nearly $900 million in broadband subsidies from Elon Musk's SpaceX satellite internet division, Starlink. He has also voiced opposition to the Commerce Department's $42-billion broadband infrastructure programme and Joe Biden's spectrum policy.
Before the US presidential election, Carr even lambasted NBC for allowing Vice-President Kamala Harris to appear on Saturday Night Live.
Who is Brendan Carr?
Brendan Carr holds a Bachelor's degree in Government from Georgetown University. He later graduated magna cum laude with a Juris Doctor from the Columbus School of Law at the Catholic University of America, where he also contributed as an editor for the Catholic University Law Review.
- Carr has built a career in telecommunications law and policy, with over a decade of experience at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), according to his LinkedIn profile. He has served as an FCC Commissioner since August 2017, playing a major role in shaping the US communications landscape.
- Prior to his appointment as Commissioner, Carr was the FCC's General Counsel from January to September 2017. Before that, he worked as a Legal Advisor in the Office of Commissioner Ajit Pai from February 2014 to January 2017, focusing on wireless, public safety and international matters. His expertise in these areas began earlier in his tenure as an Attorney Advisor in the Office of General Counsel from June 2012 to February 2014, where he offered strategic counsel on competition, spectrum policy, enforcement, and mergers.
- According to the FCC website, Carr has earned the title of “the FCC's 5G crusader,” as described by Axios, due to his leadership in modernising infrastructure rules and accelerating the deployment of high-speed networks.
- Before joining the FCC, Carr worked at Wiley Rein LLP, where he spent nearly seven years as an attorney in the firm's Communications, Appellate, and Litigation Groups. During this time, he represented a variety of telecommunications clients in trial and appellate court litigation, including appeals of FCC orders. His work also involved advising clients on rulemaking, adjudicatory proceedings, and the legal classification of novel service offerings, as well as assisting with FCC approval of proposed mergers.
- Carr's early career included a clerkship at the US Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit from August 2008 to July 2009. He also gained experience through legal internships at the FCC and the US House of Representatives' Energy and Commerce Committee, Subcommittee on Communications.
- Carr and his family live in Virginia, where he lives with his wife and their three children.
Ahead of the January 20 inauguration of his second term, Donald Trump has made several high-ranking appointments, including that of Tesla CEO Elon Musk to lead a new Department of Government Efficiency (D.O.G.E.).
