Congressional Democrats yesterday called on Federal Communications Commission Chairman Ajit Pai to “immediately stop work on all partisan, controversial items” in recognition of Joe Biden’s election victory over President Donald Trump.

It has been standard practice to halt controversial rulemakings in the period between an election and inauguration when control of the White House switches from Republicans to Democrats or vice versa. In November 2016, Pai himself called on then-Chairman Tom Wheeler to “halt further action on controversial items during the transition period.” Wheeler complied one day later.

But things could be different this time, because Trump is contesting the election despite Biden’s clear victory and making baseless allegations that the election was stolen by Democrats. The Trump administration has refused to formally begin the presidential transition and has reportedly continued budget planning and vetting candidates for job openings as if there will be a second Trump term. To comply with Democrats’ request to the FCC, Pai would effectively have to concede Trump’s defeat before Trump himself does so.

“When I was at FCC, our pencils went down quickly. Will that happen here?” Gigi Sohn, who was a counselor to Wheeler during the Obama administration, tweeted yesterday. Once he is president, Biden will be able to appoint a new FCC chair and form a Democratic majority. Pai would likely resign from the commission when the transition happens.

More at Ars Technica.