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Chair of the Federal Communications Commission
Incumbent Brendan Carr since January 20, 2025
Term length	No fixed length
First holder	Eugene Sykes

The following is a list of the chairs of the Federal Communications Commission.

List

No.	Image	Commissioner	Party	Home state	Start	End	Notes
1		Eugene O. Sykes	Democratic	Mississippi	July 11, 1934	March 8, 1935
2		Anning S. Prall	Democratic	New York	March 9, 1935	July 23, 1937
3		Frank R. McNinch	Democratic	North Carolina	October 1, 1937	August 31, 1939
4		Larry Fly	Democratic	Texas	September 1, 1939	November 13, 1944
–		E. K. Jett	Independent	Maryland	November 16, 1944	December 20, 1944	Acting
5		Paul A. Porter	Democratic	Kentucky	December 21, 1944	February 25, 1946
6		Charles R. Denny	Democratic	District of Columbia	February 26, 1946	October 31, 1947	Acting until December 3, 1946
–		Paul A. Walker	Democratic	Oklahoma	November 3, 1947	December 28, 1947	Acting
7		Wayne Coy	Democratic	Indiana	December 29, 1947	February 21, 1952
8		Paul A. Walker	Democratic	Oklahoma	February 28, 1952	April 17, 1953
9		Rosel H. Hyde	Republican	Idaho	April 18, 1953	October 3, 1954
10		George McConnaughey	Republican	Ohio	October 4, 1954	June 30, 1957
11		John C. Doerfer	Republican	Wisconsin	July 1, 1957	March 10, 1960
12		Frederick W. Ford	Republican	West Virginia	March 15, 1960	March 1, 1961
13		Newton N. Minow	Democratic	Illinois	March 2, 1961	June 1, 1963
14		E. William Henry	Democratic	Tennessee	June 2, 1963	May 1, 1966
15		Rosel H. Hyde	Republican	Idaho	May 1, 1966	October 31, 1969	Acting until June 27, 1966
16		Dean Burch	Republican	Arizona	October 31, 1969	March 8, 1974
17		Richard E. Wiley	Republican	Illinois	March 8, 1974	October 13, 1977
18		Charles D. Ferris	Democratic	Massachusetts	October 17, 1977	February 4, 1981
19		Robert Lee	Republican	Illinois	February 5, 1981	May 18, 1981	Acting until April 13, 1981
20		Mark S. Fowler	Republican	Florida	May 18, 1981	April 17, 1987
21		Dennis R. Patrick	Republican	California	April 18, 1987	August 7, 1989
22		Alfred C. Sikes	Republican	Missouri	August 8, 1989	January 19, 1993
–		James H. Quello	Democratic	Michigan	February 5, 1993	November 28, 1993	Acting
23		Reed Hundt	Democratic	Maryland	November 29, 1993	November 3, 1997
24		William Kennard	Democratic	California	November 3, 1997	January 19, 2001
25		Michael Powell	Republican	Virginia	January 22, 2001	March 17, 2005
26		Kevin Martin	Republican	North Carolina	March 18, 2005	January 20, 2009
–		Michael Copps	Democratic	Wisconsin	January 22, 2009	June 28, 2009	Acting
27		Julius Genachowski	Democratic	Washington, D.C.	June 29, 2009	May 17, 2013
–		Mignon Clyburn	Democratic	South Carolina	May 20, 2013	November 4, 2013	Acting
28		Tom Wheeler	Democratic	California	November 4, 2013	January 20, 2017
29		Ajit Pai	Republican	Kansas	January 23, 2017	January 20, 2021
30		Jessica Rosenworcel	Democratic	Connecticut	January 20, 2021	present	Acting until October 26, 2021
-		Brendan Carr	Republican	Washington, D.C.	January 20, 2025	present

References

1. List of FCC commissioners from 1934 to present at the FCC website
2. "Eugene O. Sykes, 68, Mississippi Jurist. Former Chairman of Federal Communications Body Dies. Justice of State Court". New York Times. Associated Press. June 22, 1945. Retrieved 2015-01-16. Eugene Octave Sykes, former justice of the Supreme Court of Mississippi and an original member of the Federal Radio Commission and of the later Federal Communications Commission, died of a heart attack today after an illness of several months. ...

v t e Federal Communications Commission
Jessica Rosenworcel (2012–) Brendan Carr (2017–) Geoffrey Starks (2019–) Nathan Simington (2020–) Anna M. Gomez (2023–)
Chairs	Eugene O. Sykes (1934–1935) Anning Smith Prall (1935–1937) Frank R. McNinch (1937–1939) James Lawrence Fly (1939–1944) E. K. Jett (1944) Paul A. Porter (1944–1946) Charles R. Denny (1946–1947) Paul A. Walker (1947) Wayne Coy (1947–1952) Paul A. Walker (1952–1953) Rosel H. Hyde (1953–1954) George McConnaughey (1954–1957) John C. Doerfer (1957–1960) Frederick W. Ford (1960–1961) Newton N. Minow (1961–1963) E. William Henry (1963–1966) Rosel H. Hyde (1966–1969) Dean Burch (1969–1974) Richard E. Wiley (1974–1977) Charles D. Ferris (1977–1981) Robert Lee (1981) Mark S. Fowler (1981–1987) Dennis R. Patrick (1987–1989) Alfred C. Sikes (1989–1993) James Henry Quello (1993) Reed Hundt (1993–1997) William Kennard (1997–2001) Michael Powell (2001–2005) Kevin Martin (2005–2009) Michael Copps (2009) Julius Genachowski (2009–2013) Mignon Clyburn (2013) Tom Wheeler (2013–2017) Ajit Pai (2017–2021) Jessica Rosenworcel (2021–2025) Brendan Carr (2025–)
Statutory authority (Title 47 USC)	Communications Act of 1934 Brinkley Act All-Channel Receiver Act (1962) Communications Satellite Act of 1962 Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 Cable Communications Policy Act of 1984 Satellite Home Viewer Act (1988) Children's Television Act (1990) Telephone Consumer Protection Act of 1991 Cable Television Consumer Protection and Competition Act of 1992 Communications Assistance for Law Enforcement Act (1994) Telecommunications Act of 1996 Communications Decency Act Section 230 Child Online Protection Act (1998) Wireless Communications and Public Safety Act (1999) Broadcast Decency Enforcement Act of 2005 Digital Transition and Public Safety Act of 2005 Junk Fax Prevention Act of 2005 Telephone Records and Privacy Protection Act of 2006 Short-term Analog Flash and Emergency Readiness Act (2008) Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009 Commercial Advertisement Loudness Mitigation Act (2010) Local Community Radio Act (2010) Satellite Television Extension and Localism Act of 2010
Regulations and policies (Title 47 CFR)	Title 47 CFR Part 15 Title 47 CFR Part 68 Title 47 CFR Part 97 Broadcast licensing and facilities 1978 Broadcast Policy Statement on minority ownership 2008 United States wireless spectrum auction Ancillary Terrestrial Component Antenna structure registration AWS-3 auction Broadcast call signs Broadcast flag Broadcast license Broadcast range Broadcasting duopoly Carriage dispute City of license Class A television service Clear-channel station Comparative hearing Dark and silent stations Dispersal of ownership Facility ID FM Non-Duplication Rule (1964–1986) Frequency coordinator Local marketing agreement MVDDS dispute Program test authority Public file Radio Amateur Civil Emergency Service Reference distance Rimshot broadcasting Significantly viewed signals permitted to be carried Special temporary authority United States National Radio Quiet Zone White spaces Broadcasting content and programming Actionable indecency Broadcasting watershed Emergency Alert System Equal-time rule Family Viewing Hour Fairness doctrine (1949–1987) Financial Interest and Syndication Rules (1970–1993) Fleeting expletive Government-access television Mayflower doctrine (1941–1949) Must-carry Non-commercial educational station Personal attack rule Pervasiveness doctrine Prime Time Access Rule Public-access television Retransmission consent Seven dirty words Syndication exclusivity Zapple doctrine (1970–2014) Telephone and the Internet Carterfone decision Common carrier Comparably efficient interconnection Competitive local exchange carrier Emergency telephone number Enhanced 911 FCC Computer Inquiries Second Computer Inquiry FCC mark FCC registration program Feature group FCC Open Internet Order Incumbent local exchange carrier Lifeline program National Broadband Plan National Do Not Call Registry Personal Communications Service Basic Trading Areas Telecommunications Service Priority Priority level Total element long run incremental cost Traffic pumping Universal Licensing System Universal Service Fund E-Rate
Litigation	Supreme Court FCC v. Sanders Brothers Radio Station (1940) National Broadcasting Co. v. United States (1943) United States v. Southwestern Cable Co. (1968) Red Lion Broadcasting Co. v. FCC (1969) FCC v. Pacifica Foundation (1978) CBS, Inc. v. FCC (1981) Sable Communications of California v. FCC (1989) Metro Broadcasting, Inc. v. FCC (1990) Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. v. FCC (1994) Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC (2002) Nixon v. Missouri Municipal League (2004) National Cable & Telecommunications Ass'n v. Brand X Internet Services (2005) FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2009) FCC v. AT&T Inc. (2011) FCC v. Fox Television Stations, Inc. (2012) FCC v. Prometheus Radio Project (2021) Other federal cases Hush-A-Phone Corp. v. United States (1956) American Radio Relay League, Inc. v. FCC (1980) Schurz Communications, Inc. v. FCC (1992) Lutheran Church–Missouri Synod v. FCC (1998) SBC Communications, Inc. v. FCC (1998) Satellite Broadcasting & Communications Ass'n v. FCC (2001) United States Telecom Association v. FCC (2004) Comcast Corp. v. FCC (2010) Verizon Communications Inc. v. FCC (2014) Tennessee v. FCC (2016) Mozilla Corp. v. FCC (2019) Prometheus Radio Project v. FCC (2019) Consumers' Research v. FCC (2023)
Agency publications	Report on Chain Broadcasting (1941) Blue Book (1946) FCC Record (1986–)
Advisory committees	FCC Network Study Committee Federal-State Joint Conference on Advanced Telecommunications Services North American Numbering Council Spectrum Task Force Technical Advisory Council
Predecessor agencies	Interstate Commerce Commission Mann–Elkins Act Radio Act of 1912 Kingsbury Commitment Willis Graham Act Federal Radio Commission Radio Act of 1927 Davis Amendment General Order 32 General Order 40 Grand Island FCC Monitoring Station
Related	AllVid Broadband.gov Broadcasting in the United States Radio Television Communications in the United States "FCC Song" Federal Communications Bar Association Howard Stern Show fines Media cross-ownership in the United States Modem tax National Exchange Carrier Association Net neutrality in the United States Open spectrum "PTV" RM-2493 Security Control of Air Traffic and Air Navigation Aids Super Bowl XXXVIII halftime show controversy Telecommunications policy of the United States "Television and the Public Interest" Wireless Ship Act of 1910

• Chairmen of the Federal Communications Commission
• Lists of chairpersons