Carr, Rosenworcel get Senate confirmation as FCC commissioners

The FCC will soon have a full five-commissioner roster as the U.S. Senate voted on Thursday to confirm Jessica Rosenworcel and Brendan Carr to occupy the regulator’s two open posts.

By confirming Rosenworcel and Carr, the commission will now operate as a five-member staff.

The new commission would include Chairman Pai, Michael O’Rielly, a Republican commissioner and Mignon Clyburn, a Democrat whose term is about to expire.

In June, President Donald Trump nominated FCC staffer Brendan Carr as the next Republican commissioner for the regulator. At that time, Trump also proposed another term for Pai and nominated Democratic commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel for a second term.

RELATED: Trump nominates Brendan Carr to fill Republican FCC commissioner seat

However, the Senate did not move on confirming Pai before going on their summer recess.

Neither Rosenworcel nor Carr is a novice to the FCC.

Rosenworcel, who already served as an FCC commissioner, had to depart in January after her reconfirmation stalled in 2016.

RELATED: Trump says he'll nominate Rosenworcel for a second FCC term

Carr also has intimate knowledge of how the FCC operates.

Prior to becoming a commissioner, he served as the FCC’s general counsel. Earlier, Carr served as FCC Chairman Ajit Pai’s legal adviser on wireless, public safety and international issues. He was also an attorney at Wiley Rein, LLP.

Carr is seen as a widely favorable ally to Republican chairman Ajit Pai, particularly as he tries to undo regulations like net neutrality and business data services (BDS) reforms championed by his predecessor Tom Wheeler.

“As I know from working with each of them for years, they have distinguished records of public service and will be valuable assets to the FCC in the years to come,” Pai said in a statement. “Their experience at the FCC makes them particularly well-suited to hit the ground running. I’m pleased that the FCC will once again be at full strength and look forward to collaborating to close the digital divide, promote innovation, protect consumers, and improve the agency’s operations.”