Former Sen. Cory Gardner (R-Colo.) will be stepping down as chair of the board of the Senate Leadership Fund to serve as president and CEO of the NCTA.
The NCTA, formerly known as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association, represents cable and telecom giants such as Comcast NBCUniversal, Disney, Fox, Paramount and Sony. NCTA’s board includes Fox News Media CEO Suzanne Scott and ESPN Chair Jimmy Pitaro.
At NCTA, Gardner will succeed Michael Powell, the former chair of the Federal Communications Commission, who has served as the association’s president and CEO for 15 years. Powell announced his retirement in February. Powell earned $7.1 million in the role in 2023, according to the NCTA’s tax filings. In other words, this is a gigantic job for Gardner.
Gardner, 51, first came to Congress in the huge House Republican class of 2010. He ran for Senate in 2014, beating Democrat Mark Udall. Gardner served just one term before losing to Sen. John Hickenlooper (D-Colo.).
Gardner, the NRSC chairman during the 2018 cycle, was brought onto SLF in December to help ease the transition from departing Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell to his successor, John Thune. Gardner took an active role in fundraising and has strong relationships with many of the senators up for reelection in 2026.
Looking ahead at SLF. SLF said Gardner will remain on the super PAC’s board even as he takes up his new position. Gardner won’t be the SLF chair, though.
Gardner told us that his role at SLF wasn’t meant to be permanent, and while he had hoped to stay longer, he couldn’t pass up the opportunity at the NCTA.
Under McConnell, Steven Law, a longtime GOP operative, ran SLF. Law left when McConnell stepped down as GOP leader. Thune’s operation redesigned the organizational chart, installing Alex Latcham as executive director along with Gardner as the board chair.
A Republican senator granted anonymity to candidly assess Gardner’s departure told us there were concerns that McConnell’s exit from GOP leadership would “negatively impact” the fundraising juggernaut the Kentucky Republican meticulously built over a nearly two-decade span.
“It was important to have someone high up at SLF who is close to both Mitch and John during the transition period to ensure that this model would be able to sustain itself after his departure,” the GOP senator added. “Cory accomplished that goal for us.”
