According to a new report from The Verge, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) has set up shop in the FCC.
What might happen next is anyone’s guess. But it’s possible that DOGE will fire some FCC staffers – and then attempt to hire them back again. That’s what DOGE has done at some other federal agencies in recent weeks, including the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Department of Energy, the Department of Health and Human Services and the National Nuclear Security Administration.
There is an issue…
The FCC regulates everything from radio to television to satellite communications. It’s meant to be an independent government agency overseen by Congress, but one of President Trump’s recent executive orders asserted more direct White House control over regulatory agencies like the FCC. In doing so, he further stripped the veneer of independence from an agency that has moved forward mostly along partisan lines for decades.
And a potential conflict of interest…
DOGE, meanwhile, is an idea spearheaded by Elon Musk, the world’s richest person and the chief executive of companies including SpaceX, Tesla and xAI. It is intended to trim excess expenses in US government organizations.
Importantly, the FCC has a direct impact on several sectors critical to one or more of Musk’s companies. For example, Carr’s FCC will consider both terrestrial and satellite-based operations in upper C-band spectrum. That may set up a battle between Musk’s SpaceX and 5G operators like AT&T, Verizon and T-Mobile.