President Obama announced Thursday he was nominating Meredith Atwell Baker to fill the empty Republican seat on the Federal Communications Commission. Baker was acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, the Commerce Department office charged with overseeing White House telecom policy. Baker took over the NTIA in November after John Kneuer resigned.
Baker, who stepped down with the change in administrations, had been with the NTIA since 2004, when she joined as a senior adviser. Before joining the NTIA, Baker was vice president of Williams Mullen Strategies and, before that, director of congressional affairs at the Cellular Telecommunications Industry Association. Her resume also includes working in the legislative affairs office at the State Department. If confirmed, she would fill the remaining term of former FCC Chairman Kevin Martin, which expires June 30, 2011.
Obama also formally nominated Mignon L. Clyburn of South Carolina to fill the seat previously held by Deborah Tate, whose term expired. Clyburn's term would last until July 1, 2012. Obama previously announced his intent to nominate Clyburn, daughter of House Majority Whip James Clyburn. Mignon Clyburn graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1984. Before being elected to the PSC by the South Carolina General Assembly, she spent 14 years as publisher and general manager of the Coastal Times, a weekly newspaper in Charleston, S.C.
Their nominations follow the June 18 approval of Julius Genachowski's nomination to be FCC chairman by the Senate Commerce Committee. Republican Commissioner Robert McDowell's nomination for a second FCC term was also approved by the panel. If all four pending nominations are confirmed by the full Senate, they would join Democrat Michael Copps and return the panel to its full five-member complement. - Bill McConnell
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