Communications Act may protect FCC commissioners from at-will presidential removal

A move to fire Commissioner Gomez could paralyze the FCC’s regulatory capacity for years, mirroring the 2025 National Labor Relations Board freeze that stalled hundreds of cases. For the streaming and broadcast sectors, this structural deadlock would create massive uncertainty around license renewals and ownership consolidation. The ecosystem impact is acute: without a quorum, the FCC cannot legally repeal the 39% national broadcast ownership cap, a central pillar of the current administration’s media agenda. Watch for whether the White House attempts to seat a third Republican commissioner before the end of Gomez’s holdover period in late 2027.

The operational risk at the FCC follows a chaotic 2025 at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Per Fox Rothschild, December 2025, the NLRB was effectively crippled for nearly a year after President Trump fired Member Gwynne Wilcox in January 2025. The removal, combined with the expiration of Chairman Marvin Kaplan’s term, left the board without a quorum. This prevented the issuance of any adjudicatory decisions or policy reconsiderations until two new Republican members were confirmed in December 2025, effectively freezing labor relations policy for the duration of the year.

At the FCC, the stakes involve a massive shift in media consolidation rules. Per SP Global, July 2026, Chairman Brendan Carr announced a proposal to replace the 39% national television ownership cap with a case-by-case public interest review. Broadcasters like Nexstar have lobbied for this change, arguing that local stations need greater scale to compete with global streaming platforms like Disney and Comcast. However, legal experts noted that such a significant policy shift would likely face immediate court challenges regarding the FCC's statutory authority to override a cap originally set by Congress.

Commissioner Gomez’s position remains the primary hurdle for this agenda. According to Politico, June 2026, Senate Democrats have pushed for her renomination to maintain the agency’s bipartisan function. Gomez’s term officially expired on June 30, 2026, but the Communications Act allows her to serve in a holdover capacity until a successor is confirmed or through the end of 2027. Her presence ensures a quorum remains intact, preventing the kind of total administrative paralysis witnessed at the NLRB.