O'Rielly Says Departure Expected Next Week, in Goodbye Video

Commissioner Mike O’Rielly said his departure from the FCC “looks to be on track for some point next week,” in a goodbye email with an accompanying video message sent to FCC staff Friday. O’Rielly said his “FCC end date is soon approaching in the days or weeks ahead.” His office said O’Rielly intends to serve the rest of his term. Under the law governing FCC terms of office, a commissioner’s service doesn’t end until the individual's term has expired or a replacement takes the oath of office, an FCC spokesman confirmed.

O’Rielly’s expected replacement, Nathan Simington, could be confirmed Wednesday, but it’s not clear how soon after that he will be sworn in. The FCC’s December meeting is Thursday, and, while it which had been projected to be O’Rielly’s last, that may not be the case if Simington is sworn in before it. That's possible, said former FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell. Simington could be sworn in by FCC Chairman Ajit Pai, said McDowell, who was sworn in by then-Chairman Kevin Martin.

In the goodbye video, O’Rielly thanked FCC employees, and said no one “should be remotely saddened or upset” by his exit. He also hinted at future endeavors, saying FCC staff shouldn’t take it personally when he’s not around during the two-year cooling-off period for former employees to lobby the commission, and he will have “more to say on communications matters, in the next stage of my career, whatever that may be.”