Key facts
- Thumann Severs is an attorney and senior counsel to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr, per the hearing.
- Sen. Ben Ray Luján said Democrats will use subpoena authority to examine what he called cover-ups at the FCC.
- Sen. John Hickenlooper said Thumann Severs' duties include near-daily meetings with Carr to advance his agenda.
- Thumann Severs said she has not advised Carr on media issues and would decide on facts and the law.
- Senators have until Thursday to submit questions for the record, with nominees responding by November 16.
- Committee Chairman Ted Cruz is trying to confirm Thumann Severs before Republicans lose the Senate majority.
Senate Democrats opposed President Trump's nominee for an open Federal Communications Commission seat at a confirmation hearing on November 10, 2026, and criticized Republicans for moving to confirm a new commissioner before Democrats take control of Congress in January 2027. Democrats also said they plan to use their majority next year to launch probes of FCC Chairman Brendan Carr.
"After the American people last week overwhelmingly rejected the MAGA agenda, there is no justification for this committee to advance partisan nominees during the lame-duck period," Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said at the Commerce Committee's hearing for Danielle Thumann Severs, Trump's pick to fill an empty commissioner's seat.
Thumann Severs, an attorney and senior counsel to Carr, faced questions from Democrats about whether she supports Carr's actions against TV broadcasters. Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D-N.M.) asked whether she supported what he called Carr's "illegal campaign to remove Jimmy Kimmel from the nation's airwaves." Thumann Severs said she has not advised Carr on media-related topics and declined to identify policy issues on which she disagrees with him.
Luján predicted Carr would not remain in the job long once Democrats hold the gavels, saying Carr would be called to testify monthly and would face subpoena authority. Markey accused Thumann Severs of evading questions about Carr threatening broadcasters on behalf of Trump, saying anyone seeking an FCC seat must be willing to defend the First Amendment.
Democrats also criticized Thumann Severs for not giving a clear answer on whether the FCC has authority to eliminate E-Rate, a $2 billion-a-year program created by Congress to connect students and library visitors to the internet. Carr has proposed eliminating or scaling back the program. Thumann Severs said she helped Carr work on the E-Rate Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and that she could not prejudge the open proceeding.
Sen. Tammy Duckworth (D-Ill.) said she was not comfortable with Thumann Severs' answers and that the FCC cannot eliminate E-Rate without congressional approval. Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.) said Thumann Severs' career has largely been spent serving Carr and that her duties include near-daily meetings with him. He said Trump could fire Commissioner Anna Gomez if Thumann Severs is confirmed, leaving the FCC with no Democratic voice.
Thumann Severs needs approval from the committee and then the full Senate. Committee Chairman Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is trying to get her approved before Republicans give up their Senate majority. She would give Republicans a 3-1 advantage on the FCC, which usually operates with a 3-2 split. Senators have until Thursday to submit additional questions for the record, and nominees have until November 16 to respond.