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President Trump intends to nominate Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel to return to the Federal Communications Commission after her term lapsed at the end of last year because of political maneuvering.

The White House announced the coming nomination of Rosenworcel, a supporter of tough net neutrality rules for online traffic, late Monday night.

If confirmed by the Senate, she would become only the second FCC commissioner to serve nonconsecutive terms.

Her first five-year term expired in May 2016 but she was allowed to stay on until the end of the year as Democrats pushed Senate Republican leaders to allow a confirmation vote after President Obama renominated her.

Although Rosenworcel had bipartisan support, Senate Republican leaders did not bring her nomination up for a vote. President Obama had renominated her in January shortly before he left office, but Trump withdrew the nomination a few weeks later.

Andrew Jay Schwartzman, a Georgetown University law professor and longtime telecommunications consumer advocate, cheered the decision to renominate Rosenworcel.

This appointment rights a wrong, because she deserved confirmation last year, and should have been sitting on the commission all along, he said. I look forward to her zealous advocacy for universal broadband deployment, especially for younger Americans.

The five-member commission now has two Republicans Chairman Ajit Pai and Michael ORielly and one Democrat Mignon Clyburn.

But Clyburns term expires at the end of the month. The agency generally needs at least three members for a quorum to vote on rules and take other formal actions.

Trump appears to have nominated Rosenworcel, a former FCC and Senate staffer, to replace Clyburn. But its possible Trump could renominate Clyburn along with another Republican, which would allow the agency to retain its GOP majority.

The political party of the president gets to hold three of the agencys five seats.

FCC nominations usually move through the Senate in bipartisan pairs. Rosenworcels nomination is expected to be paired with the renomination of Pai, whose five-year term expires later this year.

When Democrats controlled the agency in 2015, Rosenworcel joined with Clyburn and then-Chairman Tom Wheeler to pass the controversial net neutrality rules that subjected broadband providers to the same utility-like oversight as conventional phone companies.

The move was strongly opposed by Republicans and major broadband providers, such as AT&T Inc.

The regulations are designed to ensure the unfettered flow of online content. They prohibit broadband providers from slowing Internet speeds for some content such as video streams, selling faster lanes for delivering data or otherwise discriminating against any legal online material.

Chairman Ajit Pai, a Republican, has proposed to reverse the utility-like oversight of broadband providers, a move Democrats and consumer advocates said would make it difficult to police net neutrality regulations.

Twitter: @JimPuzzanghera

jim.puzzanghera@latimes.com

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Trump to nominate Democrat Jessica Rosenworcel, a net neutrality supporter, to return to FCC - Los Angeles Times

A Democrat who would be Virginias first openly transgender lawmaker won the primary contest to challenge Del. Robert G. Marshall (R-Prince William), a social conservative who proposed a bathroom bill and authored the states constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage.

Danica Roem, a former Gainesville and Prince William Times reporter, beat three rivals Tuesday to join the largest slate of Democratic House candidates in recent memory, joining the launch of a general election campaign in which the party hopes to retake control of a legislative chamber that has a staggering Republican majority.

The Democrats many of whom say they were inspired to run after the election of President Trump will compete in 87 of the states 100 House districts in November, making for the largest number of contested races in at least 20 years.

Democrats had 19 competitive nomination contests, eight of them in districts that presidential nominee Hillary Clinton won last fall. In addition, nine Democrats were uncontested in their primary bids to challenge Republican incumbents in districts where Clinton triumphed.

All four Democratic incumbents who faced challenges Tuesday, including House Minority Leader David Toscano (D-Charlottesville), appeared to have coasted to victory.

[Live results: Virginia primary election]

Roem easily won her four-way race with about 1,500 votes out of about 3,000 cast, a turnout far lower than what can be expected in November.

Although the 13th District leans blue in federal contests, and went for Clinton by 14points, Marshall has fended off a series of Democratic challengers in his 25 years in office.

Roem, 32, said she thinks she can succeed by capitalizing on the surge of Democratic energy and focusing sharply on transportation issues, especially congestion on Route28, while tearing into Marshall for spending time on conservative causes.

People are tired of the fact he is focused on discriminatory social policies instead of bread-and-butter, quality-of-life issues they face every day, she said. He is more concerned with where I go to the bathroom than where his constituents go to work. Im running a race on improving transportation rather than ensuring discrimination.

Marshall, in a statement in which he referred to Roem with male pronouns, said he has always been candid about his conservative views and would run a campaign focused on the issues.

On the Republican side, voters chose nominees in four competitive primaries to run in open seats. Those selected included outgoing House Speaker William J. Howells chosen successor, Stafford County Supervisor Robert Thomas. GOP voters stuck with two incumbents who faced primary challenges.

[Virginia Democrats challenging GOP lawmakers in each Clinton-won district]

House races in off-year elections normally take a back seat to the heated statewide contests for governor, lieutenant governor and attorney general.

But this cycle has seen a surge of interest from Democrats, including a record number of female candidates. Several national progressive groups endorsed and trained Virginia candidates, following criticism that the national party had neglected local and state races, leading to significant losses in the last decade.

Republicans hold a 66-to-34 majority in Virginias House of Delegates. Democrats could regain control of the chamber for the first time since 2000 if they sweep all 17 House districts won by Clinton, a proposition that leaves little margin for error. The party is also eyeing opportunities to pick up seats in 2018 if a judge in a lawsuit challenging how district lines are drawn orders new elections.

We are going to expose the Trump agenda and what it means for Virginia, said Toscano, the Democratic leader who easily beat a challenge from the left by Ross Mittiga.

[In Va. House races, new activists challenge tepid centrism]

Republican party officials say they will welcome challenges to GOP incumbents in red-leaning districts during a governors race.

These are fringe extreme candidates, John Whitbeck, chairman of the Republican Party of Virginia, said of the Democrats who are running. It helps the top of our ticket because [voters] are more likely to vote for the Republican nominee for governor if they are turned out by Republican incumbents.

National progressive groups aligned with U.S. Sens. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) endorsed several House candidates, in addition to Democrat Tom Perriello, who lost the gubernatorial primary to Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam. They saw mixed results.

Elizabeth Guzman was the only one of three progressives backed by Sanderss Our Revolution group to win a competitive primary. She narrowly defeated Sara Townsend, the Democratic nominee in 2015, in the race to challenge Del. L. Scott Lingamfelter (R), and would be the first Latina lawmaker in the state.

The only House primary too close to call was in the 2nd District, encompassing Prince William and Stafford counties, where Jennifer Foy led 2015 Democratic nominee Joshua King by 10 votes.

2017 is a precursor to the dynamics in 2018 said Adam Green, co-founder of the Warren-aligned Progressive Campaign Change Committee, which backed Guzman, Foy and Roem. Progressives will be seeking not just to elect Democrats, but to sweep in a whole new generation of rising and inspiring superstars.

Democratic activists say they will move quickly to unite in pursuit of defeating Republicans after the primary, and some voters appeared to have already gotten that message.

In the 13th District race won by Roem, Jennifer Goforth voted for Mansimran Kahlon but said she would be prefer any Democrat over Marshall.

Hes a homophobic, transphobic, racist bigot, the 49-year-old said, adding that Marshall refused to shake her daughters hand after learning the teenager had founded a gay-straight alliance at her high school. Before this year, everyone was so complacent that they didnt care about local races. No more.

Near the entrance of the polling place, Kahlons father and a volunteer for Roem promised unity as they passed out literature to voters.

Whoever wins, we will all come together, Avtar Kahlon said.

Absolutely, we cant have Bernie or bust here, said Amy Cannon, a friend of Roems.

With four candidates, we are going to get people out, Kahlon said.

In Virginia Beach, Democrat Kelly Fowler defeated Tom Brock, who was pressured to drop out of the 21st District race over a series of racist and sexist Facebook posts.

Del. Bobby Orrock (R-Caroline) easily fended off a primary challenge from Nick Ignacio, who had starred in crude online videos performing lewd acts on sex toys.

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Democratic challenger to Marshall would be Va.'s first openly transgender lawmaker - Washington Post

The weekly meeting of House Democrats on Tuesday erupted over stark disagreements about how the party should fight President Trump.

Rep. Michael Capuano (D-Mass.), a leadership ally, stood during the Democrats closed-door caucus meeting to denounce Rep. Brad Shermans (D-Calif.) impeachment push as a selfish maneuver that could hurt fellow Democrats and candidates at home, according to a source in the room.

There must be a discussion within the caucus in a public forum before we do something that would position our colleagues or our future colleagues, Capuano said, according to the source.

"Emotions are high. These issues have political implications and government ones."

Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-Md.), the minority whip, also took issue with Shermans tacticson Tuesdayafter the meeting.

We believe strongly that a discussion about impeachment is not timely, he said.

Sherman told The Hill that he spoke with Capuano afterward to emphasize that he wasn't moving forward with a floor vote on impeachment without input from Democratic leaders and colleagues.

"I said, 'I couldnt agree with you more. Im not doing anything until I consult with colleagues and leadership,'" Sherman said.

Sherman expects to formally introduce his article of impeachment against Trump either later this week or next. He then wants to give the GOP-controlled House Judiciary Committee time to decide how to respond.

"I think the Republican leadership is entitled to a few weeks to decide what to do with this article," he said.

Sherman's resolution has virtually no chance while Republicans control the House. Sherman said that if he does move forward with forcing a floor vote using a procedure that allows any member to offer a "privileged" resolution, it likely wouldn't be until after the August recess.

Sherman's article of impeachment against the president accuses Trump of obstructing justice when he fired FBI Director James Comey last month. Comey had been leading the bureaus investigation into Russian interference in the 2016 election, including the possibility that Trumps team had colluded with Moscow to sway the result.

Last week, Comey delivered a dramatic account of his firing before the Senate Intelligence Committee, where he accused the president of lying about the episode.

Sherman, an 11-term Democrat and senior member of the Foreign Affairs Committee whos known at times for his independent streak, sat directly behind Comey in the packed hearing room.

Rep. Al GreenAl GreenDem leaders: Cool it on impeachment GOP leaders are unified: Firing Mueller a bad idea House Dem threatens to force vote on impeachment if Trump fires special counsel MORE (D-Texas) has also sounded the impeachment horn. Andon Monday, after reports emerged that Trump might fire Robert Mueller, the special counsel investigating Russia's interference in the election, Green said Trump continues to validate the reasons why he should be impeached.

When dealing with Mr. Mueller, its an insult to even consider terminating him as special counsel and will be obstruction of justice if its done, Green said in a statement.

But Democratic leaders and their allies have been incensed by the move toward impeachment, arguing that the facts dont sufficiently support such a weighty tactic yet and warning that lawmakers should await more details in the ongoing investigations before launching such an aggressive attack.

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), who has tried in recent weeks to tamp down the talk of impeachment, backed Capuano duringTuesdaysmeeting, according to the source present. She argued that the Democrats should focus on bread-and-butter issues like the economy while allowing the various investigations into the Russia-Trump saga to play out on their own terms.

Rep. Joseph Crowley (N.Y.), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus, also criticized Sherman and the other handful of Democrats urging impeachment.

There is a need for a family discussion before any issue of this magnitude is brought forward, Crowley told the group, according to the source. It's of a courtesy to our colleagues."

Sherman, the source said, was in the room for the entirety of the criticism.

After the meeting, Rep. Linda Sanchez (Calif.), vice chairman of the Democratic Caucus, said Sherman and others pushing for impeachment are anomalies within the caucus.

Any member can introduce any piece of legislation that they want. We are a big-tent party, she said.

But again, I believe that I speak on behalf of the leadership and probably the majority of the caucus when I say that people are waiting to see where the investigation leads.

Cristina Marcos contributed

Updated: 3 p.m.

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House Democrats battle behind the scenes over impeachment - The Hill

ARLINGTON Democrat Justin Fairfax captured the Democratic nomination for lieutenant governor Tuesday and Jill Holtzman Vogel, a state senator from Fauquier County, narrowly won the Republican contest.

Fairfax, 38, a former federal prosecutor from Annandale who ran for attorney general in 2013 and narrowly lost that nomination to Mark R. Herring, on Tuesday defeated lobbyist and activist Susan Platt and former prosecutor Gene Rossi.

With 99.6 percent of precincts reporting, Fairfax had 49.13 percent of the vote, to 39.18 percent for Platt and 11.69 percent for Rossi.

I am so thankful to the people of Virginia for this vote of confidence in our vision for the future of the commonwealth, Fairfax said in a statement, adding: Virginia is going to be the match that sparks a progressive wildfire that spreads across the country. It starts tonight. This is just the beginning.

In the Republican contest, Vogel edged state Sen. Bryce E. Reeves of Spotsylvania County. Del. Glenn R. Davis Jr. of Virginia Beach finished third.

With 99.88 percent of precincts reporting, Vogel had 42.76 percent of the vote, to 40.03 percent for Reeves and 17.21 percent for Davis.

After many months and many more miles spent campaigning across the commonwealth, I am incredibly grateful and honored to be the Republican Partys nominee for lieutenant governor, Vogel said in a statement.

The biggest issues of our day should not be partisan issues, and as this campaign continues building momentum, I eagerly look forward to earning the support of independents and Democrats who also wish to put principle over party and focus on solving our problems.

If he wins in November, Fairfax will be the second African-American elected lieutenant governor in Virginia. L. Douglas Wilder was lieutenant governor before becoming the nations first elected black governor in 1990.

Vogel is the only woman among the six statewide candidates in the two major parties. If she wins, she will be the states first female lieutenant governor and the second woman elected to statewide office in Virginia. Democrat Mary Sue Terry served two terms as attorney general, from 1986 to 1993.

Fairfaxs campaign relied on ground-level politics in fending off Platt, who centered her campaign on opposition to President Donald Trump.

I am honored and humbled by the support we received across the commonwealth, Platt said in a statement. I am grateful to my supporters, particularly women, who stood with us every step of the way. I congratulate Justin Fairfax on his victory and look forward to working with him to make Virginia a better place to work, live, and raise a family.

In Virginia, the lieutenant governor holds a part-time job presiding over the state Senate and breaks tie votes on most issues. But in a way, the vote for lieutenant governor can be seen as a party nominating a gubernatorial hopeful in waiting.

In the Republican contest, Reeves had pummeled Vogel with direct mail attacks during the campaign and attacked her for supporting gay rights and being liberal.

The campaign also included personally contentious allegations from Reeves that Vogel and her husband were behind an email last fall alleging he had an affair with a campaign aide. Reeves has denied the allegation and said it is defamatory. A judge denied Reeves request to depose the Vogels, but Reeves has said he will sue them and others to get to the truth.

Vogel is the managing partner of a law firm handling campaign finance and ethics issues.

Fairfax spent two years in the U.S. Attorneys Office in Virginias Eastern District and now is a litigator at a Northern Virginia law firm. He led Platt and Rossi in fundraising, raising more than $1 million.

Platt, 62, a veteran Democratic operative, served as a chief of staff to then-U.S. Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., and ran the 1994 re-election campaign of U.S. Sen. Charles S. Robb, in which he defeated Republican challenger Oliver North.

Rossi, 60, like Fairfax, worked in the U.S. Attorneys Office but his career spanned nearly three decades and included high-level cases. He handled more than 110 federal trials.

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Democrat Justin Fairfax to face Republican Jill Holtzman Vogel for lieutenant governor - Richmond.com

Common Dreams

Every Democrat in America Should Support Medicare for All Common Dreams So it's great that Democrats are blasting it every chance they get, but constantly criticizing it isn't enough. We have a health care crisis in America. Everyday people are struggling to afford good coverage, and premiums and co-pays are kicking our butts. and more »

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Every Democrat in America Should Support Medicare for All - Common Dreams