Trump Appoints Ajit Pai as FCC Chairman, Installing Former Verizon Lawyer to Regulate His Former Employer

President Donald Trump designates Ajit Pai as Chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, elevating the sitting Republican commissioner and former Verizon Communications associate general counsel to lead the agency responsible for regulating his former employer and the broader telecommunications industry. Pai, who had served as an FCC commissioner since 2012 (appointed by President Obama in a traditional minority party slot), worked as Associate General Counsel at Verizon from 2001 to 2003, handling competition matters, regulatory issues, and counseling business units on broadband initiatives—the very areas he would now regulate as FCC Chairman.

This appointment represented a textbook example of the revolving door between industry and regulatory agencies, with a former telecommunications industry lawyer now empowered to set the rules governing that same industry. As commissioner, Pai had consistently opposed net neutrality protections, voting against the 2015 Title II reclassification and strong net neutrality rules that prohibited blocking, throttling, and paid prioritization by ISPs including Verizon. His elevation to chairman immediately signaled that net neutrality protections were in jeopardy, as Trump could designate him chairman without additional Senate confirmation—a procedural quirk that allowed rapid installation of an industry-friendly regulator.

Net neutrality advocates warned that Pai’s appointment exemplified regulatory capture—the phenomenon where regulatory agencies come to serve the interests of the industries they regulate rather than the public interest. Pai’s history as a Verizon attorney, combined with his vocal opposition to the 2015 net neutrality rules and general preference for deregulation, made clear that the FCC would shift from protecting consumers and internet openness to advancing the agenda of major telecommunications corporations. Within months, Pai would initiate proceedings to repeal net neutrality protections, fulfilling the fears of advocates who had warned about the dangers of appointing industry insiders to lead regulatory agencies.