Sullivan Lifting Hold on Senate Confirmation of Carr to Full FCC Term, Aide Says

Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, is lifting his hold on Senate confirmation of FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr, an aide told us Thursday. The end of Sullivan's hold, in combination with the end of a separate hold on Carr by Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., could clear the way for the Senate to approve Carr and Democratic FCC nominee Geoffrey Starks in an end-of-the-year package that may come as soon as Thursday afternoon. Senate leaders have been working since June to advance the nominees as a pair.

Senate Commerce Committee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., told us Wednesday there was a chance that if an agreement could be reached with Sullivan, Carr and Starks could be confirmed this week, along with a range of President Donald Trump's other nominees. A Commerce Committee spokesperson didn't comment.

Sullivan moved to lift the hold because the FCC had assuaged his concerns about the USF Rural Health Care Program, which led him to publicly declare his hold in September. Manchin said Wednesday he was planning to lift his hold after reaching a solution with the FCC that addressed his concerns about the commission's decision to suspend the window for responding to Mobility Fund Phase II challenges while it investigates whether wireless carriers submitted incorrect broadband coverage maps.