Enlarge / Gigi Sohn testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 9, 2022. (credit: Getty Images)

President Biden's nominee to the open seat on the Federal Communications Commission, Gigi Sohn, withdrew her nomination today.

"When I accepted his nomination over sixteen months ago, I could not have imagined that legions of cable and media industry lobbyists, their bought-and-paid-for surrogates, and dark money political groups with bottomless pockets would distort my over 30-year history as a consumer advocate into an absurd caricature of blatant lies," Sohn said in a statement provided to Ars and other media organizations.

Sohn's nomination was "met with homophobic tropes and attacks against herself and her family," a recent letter from advocacy groups to senators said. Sohn's statement said that "unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks on my character and my career as an advocate for the public interest have taken an enormous toll on me and my family."

Enlarge / Gigi Sohn testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee confirmation hearing on Feb. 9, 2022. (credit: Getty Images)

President Biden's long-stalled nominee to the Federal Communications Commission fired back at her critics today, saying that the telecom industry shouldn't be allowed to choose its own regulators.

"I believe deeply that regulated entities should not choose their regulator," Sohn said in prepared testimony for a Senate Commerce Committee nomination hearing today . "Unfortunately, that is the exact intent of the past 15 months of false and misleading attacks on my record and my character. My industry opponents have hidden behind dark money groups and surrogates because they fear a pragmatic, pro-competition, pro-consumer policymaker who will support policies that will bring more, faster, and lower-priced broadband and new voices to your constituents."

Biden first nominated Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate and former FCC official, on October 26, 2021 . The full Senate never voted on whether to confirm Sohn as an FCC commissioner, and Biden renominated her last month. With the FCC deadlocked at two Democrats and two Republicans, Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel hasn't been able to pursue any major regulation of an industry that was deregulated during the Trump era .

Enlarge / Gigi Sohn answering questions on December 1, 2021, at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing on her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission. (credit: Senate Commerce Committee )

President Joe Biden yesterday renominated Gigi Sohn to the long-empty fifth spot on the Federal Communications Commission in hopes that the Senate will finally give Democrats a 3-2 FCC majority.

The FCC has been deadlocked with two Democrats and two Republicans for Biden's entire presidency so far. He first nominated Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate and former FCC official, on October 26, 2021 .

The full Senate never voted on whether to confirm Sohn as an FCC commissioner. Republicans vocally opposed her, and Democratic leaders seemingly weren't able to line up support from more conservative party members such as Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Enlarge / Gigi Sohn testifies during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing examining her nomination to the Federal Communications Commission on Wednesday, February 9, 2022. (credit: Getty Images | Pool)

One year ago today, President Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to the empty spot on the Federal Communications Commission. Sohn, a longtime consumer advocate who worked for the Obama-era FCC, would have given Chairwoman Jessica Rosenworcel the tiebreaking vote needed to reverse Trump-era deregulation of the broadband industry, restore net neutrality rules, and pursue other rulemakings opposed by the commission's Republicans.

But Sohn is still waiting for the Senate to vote on her nomination. With Senate elections happening in two weeks, It's not clear that a vote on Sohn will ever happen.

"It has been a year since President Biden nominated Gigi Sohn to the FCC, which itself was 10 months into the first term of the Biden administration. It is long past time to vote on Ms. Sohn's nomination and confirm her to the FCC, where she can put her decades of experience to work for American consumers," CEO Chris Lewis of consumer advocacy group Public Knowledge said today . Sohn co-founded Public Knowledge in 2001 and led the group until taking a position as counselor for then-FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler in 2013.

Enlarge / US President Joe Biden at an event on broadband discounts for low-income Americans, in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 9, 2022. (credit: Getty Images | Drew Angerer )

Consumer advocates are not impressed by President Biden's announcement that Internet service providers have agreed to provide cheap broadband to low-income Americans.

Biden's announcement on Monday touted voluntary commitments from Comcast, Charter Spectrum, AT&T, Verizon, and 16 other ISPs to offer $30-per-month broadband to households eligible for discounts under the Affordable Connectivity Program (ACP). Each of the 20 companies "committed to offer all ACP-eligible families at least one high-speed plan [with download speeds of at least 100Mbps] for $30/month or less, with no additional fees and no data caps," the White House said. That effectively makes the broadband plans free for many people because the ACP provides eligible households with discounts of $30 a month.

At a press conference attended by representatives of ISPs, Biden called out Comcast, Charter, AT&T, Frontier, and Verizon. "You're really changing people's lives. You really are," the president said to the big broadband providers. Biden also praised "smaller providers serving rural areas, like Jackson Energy Authority in Tennessee and Ideatek in Kansas."