Venable partner Larry Norton was quoted in a June 30, 2015 Time article on how gridlock is slowing the work of the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Next month, the agency will have gone two years without anyone serving as general counsel because commissioners cannot agree on who should get the job. Likewise, the FEC staff has shrunk in recent years and the agency has had trouble filling open positions with top-level talent.
According to Norton, when someone without a commission mandate assumes the general counsel’s duties, "you’ve upset the agency’s balance, and you’ve weakened the ability of that person to fulfill his or her statutory mandate…You can’t act with strength and independence."