Brent Skorup

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Former Senior Research Fellow
Brent Skorup was a senior research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. His research areas include transportation technology, telecommunications, aviation, and wireless policy.
He serves on the FCC’s Broadband Deployment Advisory Committee, the Texas DOT’s Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Task Force, and the Texas DOT's Urban Air Mobility Advisory Committee. He is also a member of the Federalist Society’s Regulatory Transparency Project.
The White House, the FCC, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court, and a dissenting opinion at the Illinois Supreme Court have cited his research. In addition to economics and law journal publications, he has authored pieces for National Affairs, Reuters, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, Wired, Air Traffic Management magazine, Regulation magazine, and elsewhere. He’s appeared as a TV and radio interview guest for news outlets like C-SPAN, NPR, CBS News, ABC News, and CNBC Asia.
Brent has a BA in economics from Wheaton College and a law degree from the George Mason University School of Law, where he was articles editor for the Civil Rights Law Journal. He was a legal clerk at the FCC’s Wireless Telecommunications Bureau and at the Energy and Commerce Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. Before joining Mercatus, he was the Director of Research at the Information Economy Project, a law and economics university research center.
Latest Work
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Good FAA Update on State and Local Rules for Drone Airspace | The Technology Liberation Front
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Drone Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment | The Federalist Society's "Fourth Branch Podcast"
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Is Your State Ready for Drone Commerce? The 2023 State-by-State Scorecard
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Feature Feature
2023 State Drone Commerce Rankings

- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Emerging Global Divide Over AI Regulation | Digital Spirits
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments Urging a Sectoral Approach to AI and Cloud Services Competition
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments Urging a Sectoral Approach to AI Accountability
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
AI Alignment and Future Threats | Digital Spirits
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments to NTIA on the National Spectrum Strategy
Latest Work
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Good FAA Update on State and Local Rules for Drone Airspace | The Technology Liberation Front
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Drone Surveillance and the Fourth Amendment | The Federalist Society's "Fourth Branch Podcast"
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Research Papers Research Papers
Is Your State Ready for Drone Commerce? The 2023 State-by-State Scorecard
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Feature Feature
2023 State Drone Commerce Rankings

- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Emerging Global Divide Over AI Regulation | Digital Spirits
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments Urging a Sectoral Approach to AI and Cloud Services Competition
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments Urging a Sectoral Approach to AI Accountability
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
AI Alignment and Future Threats | Digital Spirits
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Comments to NTIA on the National Spectrum Strategy
Latest Work
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Working Papers Working Papers
Planepooling and Air Taxis for Post-COVID Aviation
- | Policy Briefs Policy Briefs
State Drone Laws Frequently Asked Questions
Latest Work
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
FAA Grounds Flights After Notice to Air Missions System Goes Down | ABC News Radio
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
FAA System Outage Causes Air Travel Chaos Across the U.S. | Fox News 5 (DC)
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
FAA Grounds Planes | Bloomberg Radio
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | TV Appearance TV Appearance
How Do Regulations Affect Delivery Drones? | The Federalist Society
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Policy Reform for Progress | CSPI Podcast
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Radio Appearance Radio Appearance
Drones | The Lars Larson Show
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
“Federal, State and Local Lawmakers: You Need to Get Ahead of This. The Lawsuits Are Coming.” | The Overton Window Podcast
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Drones and Federalism w/ Brent Skorup
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Podcast Appearance Podcast Appearance
Brent Skorup and Adam Thierer on the Deep Dive Podcast - Legal Issues for Commercial Drones
Latest Work
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Clarifying the Law Can Help New Hampshire Protect Its Citizens’ Privacy
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Texas Fares Well With Drone Policy and Has Potential to Become a Leading Locale for the Drone Industry
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Prioritize Fast and Accurate Diagnostic Testing in the Short Term
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Title I Broadband Policy Will Have a Small or Beneficial Net Effect on Public Safety Communications
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
Refine the FAA’s Remote ID Rules to Ensure Aviation Safety and Public Confidence
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | State Testimonies State Testimonies
Reform Proposals for Broadband Policy in Pennsylvania
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The FCC Should Impose a Cap on the Universal Service Fund
- | Regulation Regulation
- | Public Interest Comments Public Interest Comments
The FCC Should Modernize Over-the-Air Reception Device Rules
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Federal Testimonies Federal Testimonies
Safety, Innovation, and Autonomous Vehicles
Latest Work
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
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Making Transportation Faster, Cheaper and Safer | Discourse
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Censored | Discourse
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
4 Keys to Getting Rural Broadband Right | Governing
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Government Indecision is Strangling the Drone Industry | Tribune News Service
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
How Arizona Is Getting Innovation Culture Right | Discourse
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Planepooling: Reinventing Regional Air Travel | InsideSources
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
Innovation Policy in Arizona
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary
The Growing Legal Controversy About Drone Trespass
- | Technology and Innovation Technology and Innovation
- | Expert Commentary Expert Commentary