Trump Nominee Wants To 'Make The Internet American Again'

President Donald Trump's pick for a top Commerce Department post privately assured Republican senators that he would look at reversing the Obama administration's decision to give up U.S. oversight of the internet, according to documents newly obtained by POLITICO.

David Redl, now the head of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration, made the pledge last summer to Sens. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) and Mike Lee (R-Utah), who had condemned the move to international control as a giveaway that could empower authoritarian governments. Trump has also attacked former President Barack Obama’s handover, describing it as a “stupid” decision that would turn over “the internet to foreigners."

Redl promised the senators that he would recommend convening a "panel of experts to investigate options for unwinding the transition," according to a letter that POLITICO obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

It’s unclear whether Redl, who took office two months ago, has followed through on the pledge, or whether the Commerce Department even has the ability to reverse the handover at this point. But his words appear to contradict public statements from both Redl and Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross — while offering signs that Trump’s “America First” mantra may be intruding into the administration’s approach to the internet.

The Senate confirmed Redl in November after he overcame objections from Cruz, who has long railed against Obama's move to relinquish U.S. government authority over ICANN, the global nonprofit that manages the internet's domain name system. The change took effect in October 2016, meaning that ICANN has now been an independent entity for more than a year.