Trump Fires Election Commission Members Months Before Midterms

President Donald Trump on Thursday dismissed the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission, effectively shutting down the sole federal body whose entire mission is overseeing election administration — a move coming fewer than four months before the November midterms.

The two Democratic commissioners, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, received emails informing them their terminations were effective at once, people with knowledge of the situation said. The panel's lone remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, was given the option to step down voluntarily rather than be dismissed outright. A fourth seat had already been empty since Republican Donald Palmer left in April to join the Heritage Foundation.

A White House official acknowledged the firings via email, stating that 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 pointed to a recent Supreme Court decision — a 6-3 ruling issued in late June — that affirmed Trump's authority to remove a Federal Trade Commission member, thereby broadening presidential power over independent agencies.

Because no commissioners remain, the EAC is now unable to conduct any official business requiring a vote. Among the agency's core functions: channeling federal election security grants to states, overseeing the national mail voter registration form, testing and certifying voting equipment to federal standards, and providing guidance to state and local election administrators. Any replacements would need Senate confirmation, a process unlikely to conclude before Election Day.

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 stood behind the move, 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 pushed Congress to pass the SAVE America Act, a measure that would mandate photo identification to vote and proof of citizenship to register. The bill passed the House but has hit a wall in the Senate, where supporters cannot muster the 60 votes required to overcome a filibuster.

The EAC was established by the Help America Vote Act, enacted in the aftermath of the contested 2000 presidential election. Congress intentionally built the agency on an equal partisan balance. Election law scholars noted that whether the Supreme Court's recent ruling applies to bipartisan commissions like the EAC has never been tested in court.

Ben Hovland, one of the ousted commissioners, said the agency had served as a clearinghouse for election officials nationwide. Experts in election administration warned that with the EAC paralyzed, state and local officials are now cut off from federal guidance, and any revisions to national voting standards are frozen heading into the midterm elections.