Scalise and Jordan. Photos: Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images; Kevin Dietsch/Getty Images
With Rep. Kevin McCarthy officially out as Speaker of the House, tech policy is in for a shakeup.
Driving the news: Reps. Steve Scalise and Jim Jordan are two early frontrunners for the job. Let's take a look at their backgrounds and known tech policy stances.
Steve Scalise
- The former computer programmer from Louisiana is well versed in telecom and broadband, having served on House Energy and Commerce for over a decade. He's generally been against legislation that would give agencies like the FCC and FTC more power and money.
- Last year, he introduced a bill that would require smart device manufacturers to notify customers of recording when not prompted. In 2021, a bill he cosponsored to bolster telecom equipment security was signed into law.
- He's been in lockstep with E&C Chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers as part of Republicans' "Big Tech Accountability Platform," introduced in 2021, which is mostly about content moderation and privacy.
- He questioned Jack Dorsey and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg in 2018 on alleged bias against conservatives.
- He hasn't specifically endorsed new antitrust legislation and urged members to vote against a package that would give the FTC more funding last year, per Bloomberg.
- But he did introduce a draft bill that would require more transparency from companies like Apple, Amazon and Google about their app store conduct policies.
Jim Jordan
- The Ohio Republican chairs the House Judiciary Committee, where it's been all about Biden administration oversight and alleged social media bias; he subpoenaed Big Tech CEOs in February over allegations of collusion with the federal government.
- Jordan has not supported antitrust efforts championed by former Rep. David Cicilline and Rep. Ken Buck, and has pushed back against proposals that would give more money and resources to antitrust enforcers at the FTC.
- He elevated Thomas Massie to chair of the Judiciary antitrust subcommittee instead of Buck, a key indicator that Big Tech antitrust would not be the focus under his control of the Judiciary Committee.
- He's also floated reforming Section 230 of the Communications Decency Act.
- Rep. Darrell Issa, generally a friend to tech, is an ally of Jordan. Issa holds key roles on the House Judiciary Committee around tech and is likely to prioritize AI and patent reform.
