FCC: President To Nominate Thomas Wheeler For Chairman

Thomas Wheeler

President Obama plans to nominate venture capitalist Thomas Wheeler to head the Federal Communications Commission, USA Today has learned from White House officials.

Wheeler, managing director at Core Capital Partners, a venture-capital firm based in Washington, D.C., also has worked at several start-up companies and been a top lobbyist for the wireless and cable industries.

Obama will make public the nomination on Wednesday, according to the officials who spoke on condition of anonymity so as not to pre-empt the president's formal announcement.

If the Senate confirms the nomination, Wheeler would replace Julius Genachowski, a law school classmate of Obama's who has headed the agency since June 2009. He announced in March that he would step down.

Mignon Clyburn, an FCC commissioner and a Democrat, will be acting chair of the FCC pending Wheeler's confirmation.

Wheeler, 67, co-founded online news service SmartBrief. From 1979 to 1984, he served as president of the National Cable Television Association. His résumé also includes a stint as CEO of the Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association.

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