Consumers advocates called out Republicans on the Federal Communications Commission Wednesday for a party-line vote approving a “blatantly anti-competitive” proposed merger between T-Mobile and Sprint, the third- and fourth-largest wireless carriers in the United States.

Pai formalized his support for the $26.5 billion merger in August, with a statement that emphasized its supposed benefits but lacked any evidence. Critics warn that allowing two major wireless providers to become one will drive up costs for consumers.

Gigi Sohn, a former FCC senior staffer who is now a distinguished fellow at the Georgetown Law Institute for Technology Law & Policy and a Benton Foundation senior fellow, called the Republican-controlled FCC’s decision to approve the merger “the culmination of one of the most irregular and opaque processes in FCC history.”

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