Meet The New FCC Chairman

by Ian Bush

PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- President Trump has promoted from within the Federal Communications Commission.

The new chairman is a fan of pop culture, and also deregulation.

It's not every day a government official cites a viral trend.

"I'm almost tempted to persuade you that this is a Mannequin Challenge and slip out unnoticed."

...or song lyrics in a speech:

"Cos you had a bad day, you're taking one down, you sing a sad song just to turn it around."

That was Ajit Pai last month, telling the Free State Foundation what it was like to serve in the Republican minority on the FCC. Now...

"During the Trump administration, we will shift from playing defense at the FCC to playing offense," Pai said.

In Pai's sights, what he calls "outdated and unnecessary regulations."

"We need to fire up the proverbial weed wacker and remove those rules that are holding back investment, innovation, and job creation," he said.

Chief among them, net neutrality.

Supporters contend the policy is key to keeping Internet service providers from favoring content from companies that pay more.

But, for Pai, "public utility regulation was a solution that wouldn't work in search of a problem that didn't exist."