Trump fires Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act

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President Donald Trump fired the three remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, abruptly deactivating the only federal agency devoted solely to election administration at a time when Trump was seeking to reshape federal election rules.

The two Democratic commissioners, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, were notified by email. “On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission has been terminated, effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the email said. It was signed by Morgan DeWitt Snow, deputy director for presidential personnel in the Executive Office of the President.

The third commissioner, Republican Christy McCormick, was allowed to resign, according to three sources within the agency. McCormick declined to comment when contacted by phone. The agency’s fourth commissioner, Republican Donald Palmer, voluntarily left the agency earlier this year to join the Heritage Foundation.

The layoffs leave the four-member commission without commissioners, meaning it cannot take official action until new members are installed. They also come days after the Supreme Court granted the president the power to fire heads of independent agencies, weakening a legal framework that for decades had insulated bipartisan federal commissions from direct White House control.

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The EAC was created by Congress after the 2000 elections to help states improve election administration without federalizing elections. Its role is primarily supportive: distributing funds for federal elections, maintaining the national absentee voter registration form, testing and certifying voting systems, and offering best practices and guidance to state and local election officials.

Trump cannot simply appoint replacement EAC commissioners himself. Commissioners must be nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and no more than two can be from the same party.

Neither the White House nor the EAC immediately responded to a request for comment.

A possible legal test after the Supreme Court rulings

The Supreme Court issued two major rulings authorizing impeachment when his term ended at the end of June. In Trump v. Slaughter, the court overturned decades of precedent and said the president could remove the heads of independent agencies, such as the Federal Trade Commission, which was the subject of the case.

However, in a separate case involving the Federal Reserve, the court recognized a different rule for Fed governors, emphasizing the long historical independence of central banking institutions.

The question of whether bipartisan election agencies fall into the first category, the second, or some as-yet-undefined exception remains unresolved.

“It is an open question on the EAC and the [Federal Election Commission]”, said Rick Hasen, professor of election law at UCLA. “It has not been tested whether political entities created with a bipartisan balance could be subject to another exception.”

Earlier this year, Trump fired Ellen Weintraub, a Democratic FEC commissioner who had held survivorship status for years after her term expired. Weintraub did not file a complaint, leaving open the question of whether the president can fire members of bipartisan election committees at will.

If any of the fired EAC commissioners challenge their removal, the case could become the first direct test of whether the Supreme Court’s new doctrine of removal power extends to federal election agencies structured around a bipartisan balance.

The Help America Vote Act, which created the EAC, states that the president is supposed to consider the recommendations of the majority and minority leaders of the Senate and House when appointing new EAC commissioners.

In practice, Hasen said, that means both parties typically work with the administration to identify candidates. But “it’s more of a custom than something that appears in the law itself.”

That means Trump could try to nominate Democrats acceptable to him, even if they would still need Senate confirmation. HAVA does not appear to create a separate shortcut for temporary commissioners: vacancies are filled “in the manner in which the original appointment was made,” i.e., presidential nomination and Senate confirmation. A suspended appointment could raise separate legal questions.

A bipartisan agency without commissioners

The EAC does not hold elections or tell local officials how to hold them, but the agency has long been politically contested. Congress intended it as a bipartisan commission, with up to two members from the same party, but vacancies, partisan infighting, and leadership unrest have repeatedly limited its ability to act. Election officials and watchdogs have also criticized the agency at different times for failing to come out on top on election security, even as its responsibilities became more urgent after Russian interference in the 2016 election.

Hicks, the committee chairman, had served on the EAC since 2014 and previously worked for Democrats on the House Administration Committee, which oversees federal election law and election administration. Hovland joined the committee in 2019 after being unanimously confirmed by the Senate and previously served as acting senior advisor to the Senate Rules Committee and senior advisor on election matters.

McCormick had served on the EAC since 2014 and previously worked as a senior attorney in the Elections Section of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

What happens when the EAC is frozen

The immediate practical effect is clear: the EAC cannot act.

That could block not only the committees’ routine operations, but also any attempt by the Trump administration to use the agency to change the federal voter registration form or voting system standards before the 2026 midterms. The EAC also oversees the federal voting system testing and certification program, accrediting labs and certifying whether machines meet federal standards known as the Voluntary Voting System Guidelines. Many states rely on this certification before allowing the purchase or use of voting equipment.

The EAC had never reached quorum before. For years, vacancies prevented the agency from doing much of its work, contributing to long delays in updating election system guidelines. The agency only regained stability after the Senate confirmed new commissioners in 2019.

Now, with the 2026 election cycle underway, the agency is frozen again — this time not because the commissioners resigned or their terms expired, but because the president removed them all at once.

Jessica Huseman is the editorial director of Votebeat and is based in Dallas. Contact Jessica at [email protected].

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