During Wednesday's Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee hearing, Sen. Ed Markey (D-MA) questioned Olivia Trusty, nominee to be a member of the Federal Communications Commission, about the agency’s aim to remain apolitical.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you, Senator Moreno. I would note that when you were describing the motto for the benefit of all in the facility in Ohio, I thought you were going to reference the phrase to serve man, the classic Twilight Zone episode that ends with, it's a cookbook. It's a cookbook. Senator Markey.
00:19Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Trustee, congratulations on your nomination. As you know, I authored the E-Rate E for Education program in the House of Representatives as part of the Telecommunications Act of 1996, because I believed then and I believe now that access to education shouldn't depend on your zip code.
00:38Thanks to the E-Rate, thousands of schools in the United States now have high-speed internet access. That's millions of students who can research, learn, and grow with the tools they need to succeed in the 21st century economy.
00:53Do you agree that the E-Rate program has been a success?
00:57Senator, thank you. Yes, I agree that E-Rate has been an important part of making sure students are connected across the country.
01:03Student education has changed a lot since I created the E-Rate program nearly 30 years ago.
01:10Today, learning often extends outside the schoolhouse, putting many low-income and rural students who lack internet access at home at a serious disadvantage.
01:20Do you agree that having access to high-speed broadband at home is important for students and educators in our modern educational environment?
01:28Certainly, Senator. I think having access to broadband at home, at school, everywhere and across the country is important.
01:35And do you agree that a predictable funding source for E-Rate is critical for schools and libraries to stay connected?
01:42Yes, Senator. The Communications Act requires a specific, predictable, and sufficient funding source for universal service.
01:48Thank you. Now, let's turn to a different issue. Over the past few months, Chairman Carr has taken a series of steps to attack broadcasters over their news programming.
01:58He pressured CBS to release a transcript of an interview with Vice President Harris that supposedly contained evidence of deceptive editing.
02:06When the transcript clearly refuted that allegation, Chairman Carr still opened a docket to accept public comments on it.
02:13He's taken similarly baseless steps against ABC and NBC, and he opened an investigation into the underwriting practices of public broadcasters without citing any evidence of wrongdoing.
02:27Taken together, these actions indicate a chairman intent on weaponizing the FCC's legal authorities for ideological and partisan purposes.
02:36Ms. Trustee, I understand you cannot comment on open proceedings, so I will ask generally, do you agree that the FCC should not open or conduct investigations for political purposes?
02:50Yes, Senator. I agree with that.
02:52If asked to vote on an investigation or enforcement matter that violates the First Amendment, will you vote against that matter?
02:59So, Senator, I don't want to speculate on something that hasn't happened yet, but what I can tell you is...
03:03If it's a violation of the First Amendment, will you vote against it?
03:07What I can tell you is I firmly believe in the First Amendment, and I won't do anything to violate it.
03:12Okay, that's what I wanted to hear, and I'm glad to hear that you will take that position, and I'm going to be closely monitoring the Commission's work to ensure that it complies with the First Amendment.
03:26Mr. Isaacman, you have deep personal and financial ties to Elon Musk.
03:32You have invested tens of millions of dollars in SpaceX.
03:36You have paid millions of dollars to SpaceX for two private space flights.
03:41Your payments company, Shift 4, has an ongoing, quote, global strategic partnership with Starlink, worth millions each year.
03:48And according to a recent Wall Street Journal report, Musk personally asked you to lead NASA.
03:55Given SpaceX's significant interest before NASA, you can understand why the public would be concerned about conflicts of interest here.
04:03So, let's try to set a few things straight.
04:06I understand that you met with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago in late 2024.
04:11Is that correct?
04:11No, Senator.
04:13I was in Mar-a-Lago to be interviewed by the President of the United States.
04:17So, you did not meet with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago?
04:21I went to Mar-a-Lago to be interviewed by the President of the United States.
04:25I didn't ask you that.
04:26Did you meet with Elon Musk at Mar-a-Lago?
04:29I believe he was one of dozens of people that were around Mar-a-Lago at the time, Senator.
04:33So, did you meet with him?
04:35I would not say we had a meeting.
04:37We probably had a conversation in passing, Senator.
04:40Okay, during that same trip, then-President-elect Trump offered you the NASA Administrator job.
04:45Is that correct?
04:46At the conclusion of the meeting, Senator, he did.
04:50When Elon Musk, was Elon Musk in your meeting when Trump offered you the NASA position at Mar-a-Lago?
04:56Senator, I was interviewed by the President of the United States.
04:59Was Elon Musk in the meeting when he offered you the job?
05:02Senator, my meeting was with the President of the United States.
05:05So, Elon Musk was not in the meeting.
05:06Is that what you're saying?
05:07Senator, I was being interviewed and speaking with the President of the United States.
05:12You can just say he was not in the meeting.
05:13Was he in the meeting or not in the meeting?
05:16Senator, I'm trying to be as transparent as I can.
05:19I was being interviewed by the President of the United States.
05:21It's not a difficult question.
05:22Was Elon Musk in the room when the President offered you the job?
05:26Senator, I was, again, my meeting was with the President of the United States.
05:29I'm assuming that you don't want to answer the question directly because Elon Musk was in the room.
05:38I think that's the only conclusion anyone listening to this could reach, unless you wanted to dispel us of that notion.
05:48Senator, again, I was being interviewed by the President of the United States.
05:50And I'd also say I have no...
05:53I appreciate that.
05:56I'm just trying to determine Elon Musk's role in this.
05:59And you're not willing to be fully transparent.
06:02Have you discussed your plans for NASA with Elon Musk?
06:06I have not.
06:06So those questions obviously raise serious questions.
06:12And I want to turn to one more specific question.
06:15From monitoring sea level rise to polar ice loss to wildfires, NASA's satellites are the backbone of climate research used by scientists, policy makers, and the public across the globe.
06:27NASA's Earth-Observing System collects and archives more than 147 terabytes of data each day.
06:34This data underpins climate action efforts at every level of the government, and it drives global research collaborations, and it informs life-saving disaster response.
06:45It's a public good.
06:46Yet the Trump administration is seeking to undermine that.
06:50A recent investigation found that large swaths of climate data sets, visualizations, and web tools, once publicly accessible, have been altered or taken down.
07:00This unprecedented rollback of public information compromises scientific continuity and transparency at a time of accelerating climate threats and extreme weather events.
07:11If confirmed, will you commit to fully restoring and maintaining access to data as well as resisting any political pressure to sideline climate research at NASA?
07:21Senator, I can tell you I am very passionate about the Earth Sciences Division inside of NASA, especially with respect to anything that has impact on human life and the financial repercussions for remediating things such as wildfires, landslides, flooding.
07:39Earth Sciences also plays a big role in near-earth that stretch protection.
07:43Will you make a commitment to restore all of that information so that it's available to the public?
07:49It's vital scientific information.
07:51Senator, I have not been made aware of any information that's not being provided.
07:56I mean, I'm just not familiar with any of these changes, Senator.
07:59I'm very disappointed in your question.
08:01All this information is vital to getting the information into the hands of scientists and ultimately ordinary citizens.
08:07Thank you, Senator Markey.
08:08And I appreciate your indulgence, Mr. Chairman.