President Donald Trump has nominated Democrat Geoffrey Starks to fill the open seat on the Federal Communications Commission.

Starks, assistant chief of the FCC's Enforcement Bureau, was recommended by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer. By tradition, the president appoints opposite-party commissioners based on recommendations from the opposing party, and Trump has kept up that practice. The White House confirmed Trump's nomination of Starks on Friday.

If approved by the Senate for a term ending in June 2022, Starks will replace recently departed Commissioner Mignon Clyburn. Republicans will maintain a 3-2 majority led by Chairman Ajit Pai, with Starks and Democratic Commissioner Jessica Rosenworcel representing the minority party. Trump would not have been allowed to nominate a Republican because US law requires a 3-2 split when the FCC has five members.

Starks hasn't advocated political positions as an FCC staffer. But given his endorsement from Democratic leadership, it's a safe bet that he'll oppose much of Pai's deregulatory agenda.

Starks is an attorney with degrees from Harvard University and Yale Law School. According to his LinkedIn profile, he has worked in government for most of his career and joined the FCC in November 2015.

Starks fought fraud in FCC program

Starks worked for the Justice Department before taking his current job at the FCC, which hired him to address "waste, fraud, and abuse in Universal Service Fund programs," according to Politico.

"It's complicated and he deeply believes in the program," former Enforcement Bureau chief Travis LeBlanc told Politico. "He believes it is designed to connect historically vulnerable communities to communications. Every one of those dollars, he wants to make sure goes to that purpose."

Rosenworcel tweeted that she is "looking forward to calling Geoffrey Starks a colleague at the FCC." Pai said that Starks "has a distinguished record of public service," and wished him "all the best" in the Senate confirmation process.