John,

BREAKING NEWS: Nathan Simington, the totally unqualified, telecom lawyer nominated for the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) was just voted out of committee and is now up for a full Senate vote.¹

We can’t let the Senate appoint Simington: he would kneecap the FCC in the middle of a pandemic and delay reinstating net neutrality for years.

Can you rush an urgent donation today to fight off the worst FCC nominee in history so we have a chance to win back net neutrality?

Ajit Pai just announced that he will step down as FCC chairman in January.² We should be celebrating this, but we can’t party yet because Simington would be even worse than Pai.³

Rushing through Simington—who Trump only nominated because of his attacks on Section 230 and Internet freedom—would be unprecedented. But if the Senate rams through this vote, the FCC could be deadlocked at 2-2 for YEARS before the Senate confirms a new chair who can start undoing the damage that Ajit Pai has done.⁴

Today’s vote moves Simington one step closer to an FCC appointment. We need to pull out all the stops to make sure this doesn’t happen. Will you chip in to help us drive phone calls and mobilize small business owners to pressure key Senators who could block this nomination?

During normal times this move by the Senate would be corrupt and gross. But kneecapping the agency that is supposed to protect the public from telecom monopolies in the middle of a pandemic—where people are working from home and kids are going to school online—is downright criminal.

The good news is that we know there are several Senators who are on the fence about this. We only need one or two more votes to sink the nomination. And we’re pulling out all the stops to make that happen.

Please chip in to help cover the cost of driving phone calls and sounding the alarm so that we can stop the confirmation of Nathan Simington and let the FCC get back to work restoring net neutrality and closing the digital divide.

DONATE NOW

If we can stop the nomination of Nathan Simington, we can have a big celebration the day that Ajit Pai steps down, knowing that it’s only a matter of time before we restore net neutrality and start holding Big Telecom accountable.

Let’s make sure that day happens,

-Evan at Fight for the Future

Footnotes:

1. NextTV: https://www.nexttv.com/news/divided-senate-commerce-oks-simington-for-fcc-seat

2. CNBC: https://www.cnbc.com/2020/11/30/fcc-chairman-ajit-pai-will-step-down-on-january-20.html

3. Daily Dot: https://www.dailydot.com/debug/nathan-simington-fcc-committee-vote/

4. Washington Post: https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2020/11/30/ajit-pai-fcc-resign/

Fight for the Future works to protect your rights in the digital age.