Earlier this month, Simons told senators he did not intend to act on the president’s executive order on May 28 on social media because he considers it outside the agency’s jurisdiction.
The FTC and Simons declined to comment on the president’s talks with the president. The White House did not respond to repeated requests for comment.
Trump, who signed the mandate after Twitter began actually checking his tweets, also defrauded some GOP lawmakers this month by taking back the nomination of Michael O’Rielly, a Republican in the Federal Communications Commission. t skepticism had grounds for Trump’s mandate over acquittal.
Both the FTC and the FCC are independent bodies that are not subject to the president’s commands – he nominates their commissioners, but he cannot dismiss them except in cases of “gross negligence.” (Trump, however, has the power to oust Simons from the presidency). But Trump has often shown a willingness to push the boundaries of his office’s powers, and his attempted collapse of Silicon Valley would be toothless if the two agencies did not follow suit.
“It’s very unusual” for an FTC chairman to go to the White House, said William Kovacic, a Republican who chaired the bureau near the end of the George W. Bush administration. Kovacic, who was unaware of the recent incidents, said he had only once – directly through the press office – communicated directly with the Bush-White House about a presidential speech addressing federal hurricane response.
He says policy agreements have led to a change in an FTC presidency only once since 1950, when presidents began to point their picks: In 1981, Republican Commissioner Patricia Bailey lost hope of serving as acting FTC chief. for President Ronald Reagan, after giving a speech critical of Office of Management and Budget Director David Stockman.
Simons’ term on the FTC ends in September 2024.
Trump’s mandate urges the FTC to look into whether Internet companies have deceived their users by censoring political speech and asked the FCC to rule on when online businesses should qualify for congressional legal immunity over their content decisions. The order also directed the Department of Commerce – which reports to Trump – to petition the FCC to take action on the issue, which the department did on July 27.
Some leaders at both agencies have questioned Trump’s requests. At a briefing on Aug. 5 before the House of Representatives Commission, Simons told senators that the FTC has no jurisdiction over police political speech.
“Our authority focuses on commercial speech, not on curating political content,” Simons said. “If we see complaints that are not under our jurisdiction, then we do nothing.”
In contrast, FTC fellow Republican Christine Wilson said in June that the commission should respond to Trump’s order by looking at how social media companies make decisions about user content and targeted ads.
The FCC’s O’Rielly questioned the social media pushback on Trump in a July 29 speech, saying, “Like it or not, the Protection of the First Amendment applies to business entities.”
Five days later, Trump withdrew O’Rielly’s nomination for a new five-year term with the FCC. O’Rielly, who has served on the telecom bureau since 2013, should now retire at the end of the year.
Without O’Rielly’s backing, Republican FCC President Ajit Pai would probably not have been able to anticipate proposed changes to protections for online liability on the five-member committee, even if he was inclined. The FCC is seeking public input on the administration’s requests through September, a timeline that would likely push the conclusion until after the November elections.
The White House has not provided a public statement as to why it nominated O’Rielly.
Trump’s moves began some traditional Republicans, including Senate GOP Whip John Thune (RS.D.) and other lawmakers who welcomed O’Rielly’s perspective. The commissioner “represents mainstream conservative thinking on these issues,” former Senate Republican Barbara Comstock of Virginia told POLITICO, calling his award-winning nomination “regrettable.”
“He is right that those on the right are calling for voice regulation to advocate for a new Fairness Doctrine,” Comstock added, citing the long-defunct FCC rules that once forced broadcasters to provide proportionate coverage to issues of public interest. Republicans celebrated the demise of that policy in the 1980s and have long warned against any attempt by Democrats to reshape it.
Trump’s pressure camp comes as his administration raises other leaders in line with his views.
One of his emerging tech advisors is Adam Candeub, a Michigan State University professor professor who has represented clients as well a self-proclaimed white nationalist in lawsuits for acquittal against Twitter and criticized the protection of liability on social media. He joined the Department of Commerce in April and this month was appointed acting head of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, a major tech and telecom policy advisory firm.
Historically, every hint of presidential mediation in the decision-making of independent agencies has remained controversial, at times explosive.
In 2014, when then-President Barack Obama recorded a video report and stepped into his FCC chair to adopt strong regulations on net neutrality, Republicans accused him of violating the bureaucracy’s procedures. In 2015, after the agency passed such rules, Republicans repeatedly called FCC commissioners to Capitol Hill to air their grievances over Obama’s intervention.
Obama’s first FTC chairman, Jon Leibowitz, faced criticism before meeting with White House officials in 2011 on the same days as senior Google officials, while the company was investigated by the agency for anti-trust violations. Leibowitz and the Obama White House declined to comment on the Google investigation, which was finally closed in January 2013 without FTC action.
Daniel Lippman contributed to this report.
