Jan 3, 2006 5:35 PM

Republican Deborah Tate and Democratic FCC Commissioner Michael Copps today were sworn in to begin their new terms on the FCC, evening out the partisan standing on the commission and leaving one position unfilled.

Tate, a Republican Tennessee regulator, will complete the term of former FCC Chairman Michael Powell, who resigned in March. Her term will expire in 2007. Copps, a Democratic commissioner who would have been forced to leave the FCC next year if not reconfirmed, is serving a second term that will expire in 2010.

With Tate and Copps, the FCC is divided 2-2 on party lines. The FCC still has one open slot, created by Republican Commissioner Kathleen Abernathy’s departure in December. The seat will be filled by a Republican, but no nomination has been made yet.

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