Civil rights groups outraged after Gigi Sohn withdraws FCC nomination: ‘Sad, shoddy, and shameful’

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Sen. Ted Cruz questions Biden FCC nominee Gigi Sohn

Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, grills Biden FCC nominee Gigi Sohn over political donations she made to senators during her nomination process.

Several civil rights groups are expressing disappointment after Gigi Sohn, President Biden’s pick for an open Federal Communications Commission (FCC) seat, yanked her own nomination following a highly-publicized and bumpy process that left her short of votes from both sides of the aisle.

Sohn said Tuesday in a statement that she was pulling herself out of the running because of "unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks" on her past work and her character.

The former Democratic FCC staffer would have been the first openly gay commissioner in the regulatory body’s history. However, her past far-left provocations, including showing support for the Defund the Police movement and criticism of right-wing figures, made all Republican senators and even some Democrats uneasy over her apparent bias.

Yvette Scorse, communications director of the National Digital Inclusion Alliance, blamed anti-LGBTQ bias as the driving force behind her withdrawal.

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Gigi Sohn withdrew her nomination for an open FCC seat on Tuesday, citing "unrelenting, dishonest and cruel attacks." (Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

"Part of the disappointing crush of Gigi Sohn's FCC withdrawal is the impact of those nasty, bullying, homophobic attacks," Scorse wrote on Twitter.

The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights said Sohn’s withdrawal was a "huge loss" for civil rights but urged Biden to nominate someone new as soon as possible in order to advance his deadlocked internet agenda.

"The withdrawal of Gigi Sohn’s nomination to serve as commissioner… after 16 months of baseless attacks, is a huge loss for our civil and human rights coalition and the communities we represent. A champion of the issues we care about so deeply and the first member of the LGBTQ+ community to be nominated to the FCC, Gigi Sohn was an exemplary, history-making nominee for this position and should have been swiftly confirmed," said the group’s leader Maya Wiley.

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Gigi Sohn's FCC seat withdrawal dealt a blow to President Biden, who cannot advance his internet agenda without bipartisan support in the 2-2 gridlocked FCC. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Michael Copps, a former FCC commissioner who now works with left-leaning advocacy group Common Cause, lamented Sohn’s treatment by the Senate.

"Senate treatment of this nomination has been, from beginning to end, sad, shoddy, and shameful. And its treatment of Ms. Sohn a despicable dereliction of duty and honor. A win for big-spending special interests, to be sure, but a tragic loss for the common good," Copps wrote.

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Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced his opposition to Gigi Sohn's nomination shortly before she withdrew it. (Tom Williams/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images)

With Sohn out of the running, Biden’s agenda for internet access — and Democratic hopes of reinstating net neutrality barriers — remains at an impasse.

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"It is a sad day for our country and our democracy when dominant industries, with assistance from unlimited dark money, get to choose their regulators. And with the help of their friends in the Senate, the powerful cable and media companies have done just that," Sohn said Tuesday in a statement.

Sohn withdrew her nomination shortly after Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., announced he would oppose her.