Trump Fires Election Commission Members Months Before Midterms

President Donald Trump fired the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, wiping out the only federal agency devoted solely to election administration less than four months before the November midterm elections.

Two Democratic commissioners — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — were notified by email that they were terminated effective immediately, according to people familiar with the matter. The commission's sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, was allowed to resign rather than face outright dismissal. A fourth seat had been vacant since Republican Donald Palmer departed in April for the Heritage Foundation.

A White House official confirmed the dismissals in an email, saying the president "reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America's elections." The official cited a recent Supreme Court ruling — decided 6-3 in late June — that held Trump had authority to fire a member of the Federal Trade Commission, extending the president's removal power over independent agencies.

With no commissioners remaining, the EAC cannot vote to take any formal action. The agency distributes federal election security grants, maintains the national mail voter registration form, certifies voting machines against federal standards, and advises state and local officials on running elections. Replacements would require Senate confirmation, a process that could extend well past the November contests.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, Democrat of New York, called the dismissals "a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast." He accused Trump of "gutting the independent agency that certifies voting systems and helps election officials run secure elections."

Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said Trump was trying to "rig" the election and vowed the organization would work to mobilize voters.

The White House defended the action, saying the administration had "been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse" ahead of the midterms.

Trump has also been pressing Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, which would require photo identification to cast a ballot and proof of citizenship to register to vote. That legislation cleared the House but has stalled in the Senate, where it lacks the 60 votes needed to advance past a filibuster.

The EAC was created under the Help America Vote Act, passed after the disputed 2000 presidential election. Congress deliberately structured it around an even partisan split. Election law scholars said the Supreme Court ruling's reach into bipartisan bodies such as the EAC remains legally untested.

Ben Hovland, one of the ousted commissioners, told a news outlet that the agency had served as a clearinghouse for election officials nationwide. The paralysis of the EAC, election experts warned, leaves state and local election officials without federal guidance and freezes any updates to national voting standards ahead of the midterms.