WASHINGTON: Indian-American Ajit Pai has announced his intent to leave Federal Communications Commission on January 20, the day Joe Biden takes oath as the 46th President of the US.
As Chairman of FCC, Pai is the highest ranking Indian-American official in the Trump Administration.
"It has been the honour of a lifetime to serve at the Federal Communications Commission, including as Chairman of the FCC over the past four years," 47-year-old Pai said in a statement on Monday.
Pai thanked President Donald Trump for giving him the opportunity to lead the agency in 2017, to President Barack Obama for appointing him as a Commissioner in 2012, and to Senate Majority Leader McConnell and the Senate for twice confirming him.
"To be the first Asian-American to chair the FCC has been a particular privilege. As I often say: only in America," he said.
During his term as FCC Chairman, the federal commission over the past four years closed the digital divide; promoted innovation and competition, from 5G on the ground to broadband from space; protected consumers; and advanced public safety.
"And this FCC has not shied away from making tough choices. As a result, our nation's communications networks are now faster, stronger, and more widely deployed than ever before," he said.
He was designated FCC Chairman by Trump in January 2017.
He had previously served as Commissioner at the FCC, appointed by then-President Obama and confirmed unanimously by the United States Senate in May 2012.
Pai's regulatory philosophy is informed by a few simple principles.
Rules that reflect these principles will result in more innovation, more investment, better products and services, lower prices, more job creation, and faster economic growth, according to his profile on the FCC website.
He believes that consumers benefit most from competition, not preemptive regulation.
Free markets have delivered more value to American consumers than highly regulated ones.
He believes that no regulatory system should indulge arbitrage; regulators should be skeptical of pleas to regulate rivals, dispense favors, or otherwise afford special treatment.
Pai believes that particularly given how rapidly the communications sector is changing, the FCC should do everything it can to ensure that its rules reflect the realities of the current marketplace and basic principles of economics.
Pai was born in the US after his parents moved from India to the US in 1971.
His mother grew up in Bangalore, and father was raised in Hyderabad.