Deborah Taylor Tate was nominated to the Federal Communications Commission by President George W. Bush on November 9, 2005, and unanimously confirmed by the United States Senate on December 21, 2005. She was sworn in as FCC Commissioner on January 3, 2006. On June 20, 2007, Deborah was reappointed by President Bush to a full five-year term. At the time of her FCC appointment, Deborah was serving a six-year term as a Chairman and director of the Tennessee Regulatory Authority. She and her husband, William H. Tate, a Nashville attorney, have three college-age children.