Clyburn Exiting FCC

FCC Commissioner Mignon Clyburn says she is exiting the FCC.

She announced at the public hearing Tuesday (April 17) that it would be her last public meeting. She said she had done her best, met incredible people, and had had a chance to make a difference for people who did not know the goverment was there to serve them.

Clyburn served as interim chair of the agency and was the first woman to chair the agency.

Fellow Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel called her a partner in the public interest, and promised to carry on her fights for the public interest.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai said she had "chaired with distinction and served with honor."

Clyburn said she did not have her future path "laid out."

According to sources on the Hill and off it, Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) has proposed FCC Enforcement Bureau official Geoffrey Starks to succeed Clyburn as Democratic FCC Commissioner.

The Republicans are also trying to get a second, full-five-year term for Republican Commissioner Brendan Carr, who was only confirmed to fill an unexpired term--of former FCC chairman Tom Wheeler--and will need to pair him up with a Democrat if past is prologue.

Clyburn could have served until the end of the next Congress after her term ends--which it did last June--or until a successor was seated.

The exits of chief of staff David Grossman and wireline legal advisor Claude Aiken had signaled to many that Clyburn's tenure was drawing to a close.

Pai said that while they had not always agreed--something of an understatement of late, Clyburn had always been willing to come to the table, put her cards on it, and try to find common ground.

This article originally ran on multichannel.com.