After a six month delay, the Senate has confirmed the appointments of Jessica Rosenworcel and Ajit Pai as FCC Commissioners. Rosenworcel, who grew up in West Hartford, takes the Democratic seat previously held by Michael Copps; her term runs through June 30, 2015. Pai takes the Republican seat previously held by Meredith Attwell Baker; his term runs through June 30, 2016.
From the White House releases at the time of their nomination:
Jessica Rosenworcel, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission Jessica Rosenworcel is the Senior Communications Counsel for the United States Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, working for Senator Jay Rockefeller IV since 2009, and previously for Senator Daniel K. Inouye from 2007 to 2008. Before joining the Committee, she worked at the Federal Communications Commission from 1999 to 2007, serving as Legal Advisor and then Senior Legal Advisor to Commissioner Michael J. Copps (2003-2007), Legal Counsel to the Bureau Chief of the Wireline Competition Bureau (2002-2003), and as an Attorney-Advisor in the Policy Division of the Common Carrier Bureau (1999-2002). From 1997 to 1999, Ms. Rosenworcel was a communications associate at Drinker Biddle and Reath. Ms. Rosenworcel received a B.A. from Wesleyan University and a J.D. from New York University School of Law. Ajit Varadaraj Pai, Nominee for Commissioner, Federal Communications Commission Ajit Varadaraj Pai is a Partner in the Litigation Department of Jenner & Block LLP. Immediately prior to joining Jenner & Block, Mr. Pai worked in the Office of the General Counsel at the Federal Communications Commission, where he served as Deputy General Counsel, Associate General Counsel, and Special Advisor to the General Counsel. Previously, he served as Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Property Rights and as Senior Counsel at the Office of Legal Policy at the U.S. Department of Justice. Mr. Pai also served as Deputy Chief Counsel to the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee's Subcommittee on Administrative Oversight and the Courts, and as Associate General Counsel at Verizon Communications Inc. Mr. Pai began his career as a law clerk to Judge Martin L.C. Feldman of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana, and then as an Honors Program trial attorney in the Telecommunications Task Force at the U.S. Department of Justice's Antitrust Division. Mr. Pai holds a B.A. from Harvard University and a J.D. from the University of Chicago. Dave K1ZZ