GOP Adds Blackburn, Ernst, Hawley to Senate Judiciary Committee

“We’re going to continue to work on consumer issues, work on the privacy issues, and I look forward to getting to work on it,” Blackburn told us Thursday when asked about Silicon Valley-related interests. Blackburn also joined the Senate Commerce Committee, giving her additional opportunities to address tech issues. “Commerce will be a good fit for me,” she said.

Blackburn, who chaired the House Communications Subcommittee last Congress, was viewed as a prospective member of both Senate committees because of her telecom and tech policy background (see 1812140044). Senate Republicans hadn't formally released their caucus' committee assignments on the first day of the 116th Congress. Sen. Rick Scott, R-Fla., who defeated ex-Senate Commerce ranking member Bill Nelson (D) (see 1811190045), is also set to join that committee, the roster said.

Blackburn and Scott appear to replace Senate Commerce seats previously occupied by ex-Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who also lost re-election, and Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. The membership shifts mean Senate Commerce will have 14 Republicans and 12 Democrats, confirming expectations that Republican leaders were eyeing reducing the committee's size by at least one seat (see 1811280058). Senate Commerce previously had 14 Republicans and 13 Democrats.

“We’re just getting settled in, and we’ll visit, of course, with the chair and see where we go from there,” Ernst told us. She will remain on her four committees from 2018, which she previously told us was her preference. Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., will chair Judiciary, which lost Sens. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, and Jeff Flake, R-Ariz., to retirement. Hawley declined comment Thursday after being sworn in.

The Democrats’ Judiciary roster will remain the same as the 115th Congress. Attorney General nominee William Barr will appear before the committee for confirmation hearings scheduled for Jan. 15-16 in 216 Hart, the committee announced Wednesday.

Meanwhile, two tech-related bills are poised for re-introduction in the 116th Congress: the Honest Ads Act (see 1811020046) from Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and the AV Start Act (see 1812210049) from Sens. John Thune, R-N.D., and Gary Peters, D-Mich.

Warner told us he and Klobuchar will reintroduce the Ads Act and seek more Republican support after the death of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., an original co-sponsor and lone GOP member on the bill. “We are looking for another Republican author,” Klobuchar told us. “We would like it to be bipartisan.” The bill had 32 co-sponsors in 2018. The legislation gained traction last year, Klobuchar said, citing endorsements and partial self-implementation by Facebook and Twitter. “You just can’t have a few companies doing it and not others. You can’t have companies doing different things. It defeats the purpose of it,” she said. Companies “have made movement on many of the items, but the idea of relying on self-regulation is not going to work,” Warner said.

Sponsors of the AV Start Act are discussing amendments to the bill before reintroduction, Peters told us. “This is technology that is happening,” he said. “We have to do something. We can’t just bury our head in the sand, so we’re going to be moving forward.” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., one of the lawmakers who prevented the bill from advancing (see 1812060041), told us authors need to address safety, disclosure and consumer protection.