New York sources have stated that Ajit Pai, a commissioner in the US communications regulatory agency, has met President-elect Donald Trump amid speculation that he could head the body that deals with cell phone spectrum and broadcasting. Trump’s spokesperson Sean Spicer has said on Tuesday that the meeting with Pai, who is the Republican nominee on the Federal Communication Commission (FCC), took place on Monday.
Currently the FCC is headed by Tom Wheeler, a nominee of the Democratic Party, and a change in leadership is due with the election of Trump. The position of FCC chairman has to be approved by the Senate. The FCC is the federal authority regulating radio, television, phone, cell phone spectrum and services, internet and satellite and cable.
Pai, whose parents are doctors who have immigrated from India, is a lawyer and has served with the government, Congress and the private sector. A free enterprise advocate in the Republican mold, he has been a critic of the functioning of the FCC and has clashed with its leadership.
Recently, he has taken issue with an FCC report that questioned the legality of offerings that are used by people to access online music, videos, and other content free of charge. Trump has nominated two Indian-Americans to high-level positions: Nikki Haley as the Cabinet-level Ambassador to the United Nations, and Seema Verma as the head of the agency for government health insurance programs.
