Though Geoffrey Starks, President Donald Trump's pick to fill the open seat at the Federal Communications Commission, has years of experience in public service, his positions on major policy issues such as net neutrality and broadcast ownership remain largely unknown. But Washington, D.C., insiders say this could actually boost Starks' chances for confirmation.
The White House said June 4 that Starks was among eight nominations sent to the Senate for a confirmation vote. If confirmed, Starks would fill the seat recently vacated by Democrat Mignon Clyburn for a term that would run through June 30, 2022. Currently, Starks serves as the assistant chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, where he sits on the Universal Service Fund Council, coordinating issues regarding communications services for low-income and rural Americans.
An early proponent of Starks' nomination was the Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies, a D.C.-based nonprofit that works to improve the socioeconomic status and civic engagement of African-Americans. In February, months before Clyburn had confirmed she would be leaving the FCC, the Joint Center sent a letter to Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-NY, advocating for Starks' appointment.
Don Bell, director of the Joint Center's Black Talent Initiative, said in an interview that Starks is an "ideal candidate" for the commission, noting that though Starks does not have a long record of policy positions, he does have a strong record of service. Prior to joining the FCC in 2015, Starks was appointed by President Barack Obama to serve at the U.S. Justice Department, where he worked as a senior counsel in the office of the Deputy Attorney General. In this role, Starks advised on civil, criminal, cyber and national security matters.
"Given his record of public service, starting at the Department of Justice and his work at the enforcement bureau at the FCC, he just seemed eminently qualified to be a person who could step into the role, understand the stakeholders, understand the process and really be a meaningful voice at the commission," Bell said of Starks.
Asked whether Starks' lack of public positions would hurt his chances of confirmation, Bell said no.
"I think as members of the Senate meet with him, they will see him as a thoughtful and engaged individual who has experience advising senior staffers, experience managing people, experience in understanding complex issues and solving problems, and I think that will end up carrying the day," he said.
Cooley LLP partner Robert McDowell, who served as a Republican commissioner on the FCC between 2006 and 2013, agreed, saying Starks' absence of public positions may actually help him in the confirmation process.
"We don't know much about his governing philosophy, or really anything at all, so that's an open question. But for confirmation purposes, that's a good thing," McDowell said in an interview, adding that Starks "can become an empty vessel into which senators pour their hopes and dreams and hope for the best. And that's an advantage."
McDowell pointed to his own experience, noting that when he was first approached about joining the commission by the Bush administration in late 2005, he too had been "plucked from obscurity" by former Sen. Ted Stevens, R-Alaska.
"Not a lot of people knew me either. So I completely sympathize," McDowell said, adding that Starks has a "substantive résumé that will be very useful at the FCC."
One potential indicator of Starks' policy positions, according to Berin Szóka, president of free-market-focused tech policy group TechFreedom, is that Starks worked closely under former FCC Enforcement Bureau Chief Travis LeBlanc. Szóka said LeBlanc had a reputation for taking an "aggressive approach to enforcement and setting record fines," and that Democrats may be hoping Starks will replicate that approach as commissioner.
LeBlanc told Politico on June 4 that the best indicator of Starks' interests is his work on the Universal Service Fund, which is used to subsidize the cost of connecting rural residents to phone and internet services. If confirmed, LeBlanc expects Starks to continue focusing on protecting vulnerable consumers while also going after companies or individuals who try to abuse the system.
The FCC is comprised of five commissioners, only three of whom can belong to the same political party. Since Clyburn's May departure, the agency has been operating with four commissioners, including three Republicans and one Democrat.
