Robin Groulx / Axios
President Trump has renominated FCC Chairman Ajit Pai to another term at the agency, a Senate aide has confirmed to Axios. The White House was hoping to move renomination papers to the Senate today ahead of Pai's appearance before a Senate Commerce Committee hearing tomorrow.
He's been renominated for a five-year term beginning July 1, 2016, when his previous term formally expired. (Commissioners are able to stay on at the agency a year after their term expires.)
More than 73.1 million people watched the first presidential debate on television on Tuesday night, according to Nielsen ratings.
Why it matters: While that's a sizable audience for any American TV program, it's down more than 13% from the record number of TV viewers who tuned in for the first debate of the 2016 election. The chaotic nature of the debate and the overall uncertainty around this year's election may have pushed some viewers away.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
The Senate on Tuesday passed legislation to fund the federal government through Dec. 11, by a vote of 84-10.
Where it stands: The legislation will avert a government shutdown before funding expires Wednesday night and before the Nov. 3 election. The House passed the same measure last week by a vote of 359-57 after House Democrats and the Trump administration agreed on the resolution.
Illustration: Sarah Grillo/Axios
Synthetic biology startups raised some $3 billion through the first half of 2020, up from $1.9 billion for all of 2019, as the field brings the science of engineering to the art of life.
The big picture: Synthetic biologists are gradually learning how to program the code of life the way that computer experts have learned to program machines. If they can succeed — and if the public accepts their work — synthetic biology stands to fundamentally transform how we live.