Independent from the White House, the FCC is still greatly influenced by it in various ways: presidents set the tone for their quadrenniums; appoint commissioners at the FCC and elsewhere; badger them, Congress, and the judiciary with the bully pulpit; wield leaks to the press to pressure regulators; meet with the same lobbyists meeting with the commission, and so on.

Created by Douglas Lucas in September 2024 as a footnote for his Sept. 22, 2024 article at the Daily Dot: "Election 2024: The future of TikTok and tech policy under Trump versus Harris."