FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler Announces He Will Not Serve Out Term under New Administration
By Pamela J. Garvie, Andrew C. Glass, Joseph C. Wylie II, Gregory N. Blase, Molly K. McGinley, and Roger L. Smerage
On Wednesday, the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”), which has regulatory authority over the Telephone Consumer Protection Act (“TCPA”), announced that Chairman Tom Wheeler plans to resign as of January 20, 2017, when President-Elect Trump is expected to be inaugurated. Appointed in 2013 by President Obama, Chairman Wheeler’s term was not set to expire until 2018. It is tradition, however, for a sitting chair whose term extends into a new presidential administration to resign when the new president is from the other political party.