Policymakers

As Democrats begin to rebuild in the wake of their 2016 presidential election defeat, the party’s official political organ is tapping Raffi Krikorian, a former top engineer at Uber’s self-driving-car program, to be its next chief technology officer. The hire comes as the Democratic National Committee looks to improve its tech tools in a bid to reach more voters — while preventing another major cyber breach, the likes of which by Russian-backed hackers in 2016 helped sink Hillary Clinton’s campaign.

Krikorian departed Uber in February; he had served as the senior director of engineering at Uber’s Advanced Technologies Center in Pittsburgh. He then briefly joined New America, a nonpartisan policy think tank, as the director of engineering focused on public-interest technology. He did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment, nor did the DNC. When he assumes his new role, though, Krikorian will face no shortage of endemic tech troubles to tackle — beginning with shoring up the DNC’s cyber defenses after Russian hackers targeted Democrats in 2016, stole their private emails and shared them with WikiLeaks.

New America announces its first class of Public Interest Technology Fellows. Fellows will come to New America from across private and public-sector organizations, including Facebook, Google, and the United States Digital Service at the White House. Together, they will work to influence demand for technology expertise among public interest organizations by building concrete examples that show the transformative impact of bringing technologists onto their teams. The goal of the initiative is to build a long-term, robust infrastructure that allows advocates, service providers, and leaders to harness the power of technology in serving communities.

President Donald Trump announced his intent to nominate Peter Davidson to be General Counsel of the Department of Commerce. Davidson recently served as Senior Vice President for Congressional Relations at Verizon Communications, and prior to that, as General Counsel to the United States Trade Representative. He has also served as Vice President for Congressional Relations at USWEST and Qwest, General Counsel and Policy Director to the Majority Leader of the House of Representatives, Attorney-advisor in the Office of Legal Counsel of the Department of Justice, director of congressional and media relations at the United States Information Agency, staff to Reps Dick Armey (R-TX) and Bill Frenzel (R-MN), and law clerk on the United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit. Davidson has degrees from Carleton College and The University of Virginia School of Law, where he served as Notes Editor on the Law Review. He was raised in Minnesota and northern Wisconsin and currently resides in Virginia with his wife Kari, and they have three children: Madeleine, Sophie, and Björn.

Much of the media coverage surrounding President Donald Trump's meetings with tech industry executives this week has focused on the companies in the room — Apple, Microsoft, Verizon and so on. But separate meetings organized around the same event have also included a smattering of government officials, including on June 22 the head of the Federal Communications Commission, Ajit Pai.

On one level, Chairman Pai's attendance makes sense: The day's meetings focused on the future of wireless technology, an area where the FCC has a lot of expertise and jurisdiction. On another level, though, Chairman Pai's presence was unusual: As the head of an agency that's supposed to keep its distance from the White House, Pai has shown no qualms about appearing on the same agenda with President Trump. And that is now raising questions among some about his overall independence from the Trump administration.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that he intends to appoint Rosemary C. Harold to serve as chief of the Enforcement Bureau. Harold is an attorney with considerable experience both within the agency and in private practice, as well as a former journalist. Harold will be working closely with Michael Carowitz who, having served as acting bureau chief, will continue to help lead the Bureau as deputy bureau chief.

Harold rejoins the agency from Wilkinson Barker Knauer LLP, where she was a partner. Prior to joining the firm in 2011, Harold was a legal advisor to then-FCC Commissioner Robert McDowell for media and broadband issues and deputy chief of the FCC’s Media Bureau. She began her career as a journalist, working as a reporter and bureau chief for the Miami Herald and an editor at C-SPAN. She earned her law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center, her master’s degree from the University of Missouri, and her bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced the creation of the Global Indigenous Ambassador Program. The program establishes two Indigenous Ambassadors, to be selected from underrepresented indigenous communities. Through the inclusion of a broader and more diverse base of knowledgeable constituents, ICANN will be better equipped to support the next generation of the global Internet community.

"This is an exciting opportunity for two Indigenous Ambassadors to learn about ICANN and the At-Large community, representing the best interests of Internet end users," states Loris Taylor, President & CEO, Native Public Media. ICANN is now accepting applications for two Global Indigenous Ambassadors. Applicants must be members of unserved or underserved tribal or native communities and meet the ICANN Fellowship Program criteria. Selected participants will receive travel, hotel, and per diem for the ICANN60 Conference in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, to be held 28 October – 3 November 2017. The deadline for submitting applications is 6 July 2017.

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai announced that the agency has chosen Tom Sullivan to serve as chief of the FCC’s International Bureau, continuing the work he has been doing as acting chief.

Prior to his appointment to acting chief, Sullivan was an associate bureau chief and the chief of staff for the bureau he now leads. He has served in a variety of positions within the International Bureau and the FCC’s Office of Managing Director. He joined the Commission in 1991 after receiving his Master’s Degree in Public Policy from the University of Michigan. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan in 1990.

TV station powerhouse Sinclair Broadcast Group raised a few eyebrows in April when it hired Boris Epshteyn as its chief political analyst. Epshteyn, after all, was a combative TV surrogate for President Trump during the presidential campaign and briefly was a Trump administration press aide, raising an obvious question: How independent would his political analysis be? The answer, judging from Epshteyn’s first few weeks on the job, seems to be not very.

In his initial pieces for Sinclair, the owner of the largest string of TV stations in the nation, Epshteyn has played much the same role he did during the presidential campaign — as a Trump booster and defender. His “Bottom Line With Boris” segments have echoed positions taken by Trump himself, especially the president’s distaste for the news media.

Apparently, White House press secretary Sean Spicer is leading a search for his own replacement at the briefing room podium as part of a larger plan to shake up the White House communications operations. The week of June 12, Spicer and White House chief of staff Reince Priebus reached out to Fox News personality Laura Ingraham about the role of press secretary and Daily Mail editor David Martosko about the role of communications director, apparently.

President Donald Trump officially sent to the Senate Jessica Rosenworcel's renomination to be a commissioner at the Federal Communications Commission on June 15. The former Democratic commissioner will reclaim the seat she was forced to leave in January after the Senate failed to confirm her to a new term. Some had privately wondered if Rosenworcel might be in line for Democratic Commissioner Mignon Clyburn's seat, with its full five-year term, but the White House said that Rosenworcel will fill her old seat, a term that runs from July 1, 2015 to June 30,2020.