Democrat Sen. Bob Menendez rips FCC ‘inaction’ on Tegna deal, threatens to derail key confirmation: sources

The leadership of the FCC is facing a possible reshuffling as a powerful Democratic senator threatened to hold up a key confirmation if the agency didn’t vote on a stalled cable deal, sources told The Post.

New Jersey Sen. Bob Menendez railed on the Senate floor about the FCC jeopardizing the offer by Soo Kim’s Standard General to buy Tegna, the owner of 64 television stations, “through, in essence, inaction.” 

Kim, a Korean-American who grew up in Queens and went to Stuyvesant High School, agreed to pay $8.6 billion in February 2022 for the media company. The deal would make Kim the largest minority owner of a broadcast station group in the country. 

“We need the FCC Commissioners to commit to increasing diversity in media ownership not just in words but with actions,” Menendez said in his speech on April 24.

“I, for one, will not support nominees for the FCC if they are unwilling to support diversity.”

The agency has been in chaos for nearly two years as President Biden tried to push through Gigi Sohn to fill the fifth seat on the partisan board.

Last month, she was forced to withdraw after Sen. Joe Manchin said he would not support Biden’s overly progressive nominee.

The setback left the Democratic Chair Jessica Rosenworcel essentially in control of the evenly split FCC.

However, the term of the agency’s other Democrat, Geoffrey Starks, has expired. 

“My first question to any FCC nominee I meet will be what actions will you take if confirmed to expand diversity in media ownership,” Menendez said.

“Or if they are a present FCC Commissioner seeking [another term] what actions have you taken to expand diversity in broadcast ownership?”     

Starks, who joined the FCC in 2019, will be forced out at the end of the year if he is not reconfirmed, leaving the agency’s voting power in the hands of the two Republicans — and putting some teeth behind Menendez’s threat.

“He essentially said he would vote against the Starks nomination unless Starks supports a Tegna vote,” a DC insider told The Post. 

Another source added: “Jessica has to decide whether this was a bluff or not.”

The Democrats hold a slim 50-49 edge in the Senate and any defection on a Starks confirmation could cost him his seat.

“Losing Starks on the Commission would effectively shut down the FCC,” the Washington Analysis, a research firm, wrote after the Menendez speech.

“Particularly after the Gigi Sohn FCC nomination debacle, the White House was counting on a drama-free process with Starks. … Having to find, vet, nominate and confirm another Democrat nominee is unlikely to be accomplished before year-end.”

Meanwhile, the Tegna deal suffered a judicial blow two days after Menendez’s ultimatum when an FCC Administrative Law Judge rejected Standard General’s request to have an expedited hearing on whether a vote should be held. 

The judge said she did not want to consider the motion before the financing for the heavily-leveraged Tegna merger terminates May 22.

The judge wants to see if Tegna could get new financing arranged and offered to meet again June 1, sources said.

There are some powerful forces in the Democratic party who have opposed the merger.

Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi wrote to Rosenworcel last October, saying she had serious concerns that the deal would raise cable bills, crimp local news coverage and spur job losses. 

In a written response to the FCC, Standard General denied plans to diminish local coverage and cut station jobs, calling them speculation and saying it “made a commitment in the FCC record that it was not planning any such actions.”

The Post reported exclusively that Pelosi and other House Democrats got more than $500,000 in campaign donations from Byron Allen, a comedian-turned-media mogul who wanted to block the deal.

Allen has offered to buy Tegna, but at least one year ago did not have the financing.

There have also been concerns over whether Apollo Global Management, which is lending money to Standard General to fund the deal, will have any hand in Tegna management, sources said.

Apollo owns the Cox Media Group and its 33 television stations. Combining Cox and Tegna would be in violation of broadcast ownership rules, sources said.

Standard General has said Apollo will have no say in running Tegna.

Kim’s bid gained support this week from several minority groups.

The Asian Americans Advancing Justice-AAJC, National Action Network, National Urban League, and UnidosUS Call released a joint statement calling on the FCC to hold a vote.

The FCC declined comment.

“Senator Menendez made it clear in his speech that the FCC has a responsibility to promote greater diversity in media ownership. As always, the senator welcomes a productive dialogue with any current or future nominees and looks forward to hearing how she or he would work to expand broadcast diversity across the industry,” a spokesman for Menendez said.