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Trump to give Republicans a 3-1 FCC majority, isn't filling empty Democratic seat

11 August 2026 at 15:28

The Federal Communications Commission has been shorthanded throughout President Trump's second term, but it's about to get a new commissioner. Unsurprisingly, Trump is breaking a historical norm with a nomination that would give Republicans a 3-1 advantage on the FCC.

Historically, the president and Senate worked together to ensure that the president's party maintained only a one-vote majority. Normally, the president's party has three FCC members while the minority party has two.

Instead of the typical 3-2 split, the FCC has operated with a 2-1 Republican majority during Trump's second term. On Friday, Trump nominated Republican Danielle Thumann Severs to take one of the empty spots. Thumann Severs, a lawyer, has been working as FCC Chairman Brendan Carr's senior counsel. She must be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate before being sworn in as a commissioner.

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Β© Getty Images | Anna Moneymaker

Trump signs bonkers order that cuts vaccines, promotes ones that don't exist

10 August 2026 at 21:42

President Trump signed an executive order Monday that makes sweeping, unilateral changes to federal vaccine recommendations. The order aims to reduce the number of lifesaving vaccines all children are recommended to getβ€”from 18 to 11β€”while also splitting them up and spacing them out over more time and more medical visits.

The vaccine changes are not backed by evidence or spurred by new findings. Rather, they are based on false anti-vaccine fearmongering about harms, including the debunked claim that they cause autism, and misinformation that multiple vaccinations can "overwhelm" children's immune systems. This false claim has also been repeatedly debunked and explained.

During a signing event at the White House on Monday afternoon, Trump falsely claimed that pediatricians "have a vaccination that looks like the size of a bottle of soda," that is "poured into a little child's body, and bad things happen in too many cases. This is an explosion; this is an epidemic," Trump said.

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Β© Getty | Bonnie Cash

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