First, he has every right to do it. The Communications Act of 1934, the legislation that created the FCC, makes clear in Section 4(a) that the president has the power to “designate as chairman” one of the five commissioners. There seems to be no precedent or law saying that the president cannot change that designation. The commissioners have fixed terms as commissioners, not as chairs. In fact, whenever a new president takes office, the chairperson typically steps down from that post pretty much immediately, allowing the new president to designate a replacement. (Outgoing chairs usually step down by leaving the FCC altogether, rather than staying on as mere commissioners, as was the case with Wheeler’s predecessors, Julius Genachowski and Kevin Martin, but Wheeler would not be obligated to leave.)

Second, it’s not just that Obama can demote Wheeler—he also should. Wheeler has lost just about everyone’s confidence. Three weeks ago, word of Wheeler’s proposal leaked to the public and prompted a massive backlash. More than 150 companies, 100 investors, dozens of nonprofit groups, dozens of congressmen and senators and hundreds of thousands of citizens have written or called the FCC urging it to stop the proposal—well before the proposal was officially released on Thursday. What’s more, Wheeler’s rhetoric on what he insists is a “network neutrality” rule that does not authorize paid fast or slow lanes directly contradicts the substance of the proposal itself: Paragraph 97 plainly permits “individualized arrangements for priority treatment.” That kind of doublespeak will make it difficult for anyone to believe Wheeler’s claims over the next months.