Democrat Brian Schatz places hold over concerns about deal struck with Republican Ted Cruz.
It has been nine months since Donald Trump took office but the National Telecommunications & Information Administration (NTIA) still does not have an administrator. Trump’s appointee, David Redl, has been stymied mostly by Texas Senator Ted Cruz.
The NTIA is the U.S. entity that interacts with ICANN and officially “set if free” last year. Texas Senator Ted Cruz was opposed to the transition out of U.S. government hands. He said it could lead to Russia and China taking over the internet.
During a June hearing, Cruz asked Redl what he thought about the decision to cut U.S. government ties with ICANN last year. Redl said that he was confident the U.S. is in a position to protect its interests, Bloomberg reported.
Concerned about Redl’s position, Cruz put a hold on Redl’s nomination. He then met with Redl and members of Trumps administration. Afterward, he lifted his hold.
Now, according to Washington Internet Daily, Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) has placed a hold to block a full Senate vote on Redl. Redl is apparently worried about what kind of deal Cruz struck with Redl and the Trump administration and wants to learn more.
John says
Is this not one example of why the “transition” was such a bad idea:
http://domainincite.com/22231-we-own-your-name-government-tells-amazon-in-explosive-slapdown
John Berryhill says
“On 14 May 2014, ICANN published a Board Resolution accepting the GAC’s advice, so that the .AMAZON Applications would not proceed.”
http://www.circleid.com/posts/20171023_icann_to_reconsider_the_amazon_domain_applications/
That was done –before– the transition. How has the transition changed the course of the discussion or eventual status of the .amazon tld application?
The .amazon tld applicant, incidentally, is not a US company in the first place, but a Luxembourg company.