Donald Trump has terminated the last operational members of the Election Assistance Commission, the only federal agency dedicated exclusively to election administration, drawing fierce accusations from Democratic leaders that he is attempting to manipulate the upcoming midterm elections.
The move strips the independent bipartisan body of its ability to function. Two Democratic commissioners, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, were terminated by email Thursday effective immediately. The commission's sole Republican commissioner, Christy McCormick, was pushed to resign, while a fourth Republican seat had already sat empty since Donald Palmer departed for the Heritage Foundation earlier this year.
With no commissioners remaining, the agency cannot take formal votes on any action. The paralysis arrives at a critical moment, months before voters head to the polls and as election officials nationwide prepare for the midterm contests.
Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer called the dismissals a "brazen attempt" to seize control of elections "before a single vote is cast." He noted that Trump had previously suggested Republicans should "take over the voting," and condemned the terminations as a bid to gut the independent agency that certifies voting systems and helps election officials run secure elections.
Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, said Trump was attempting to rig the election out of fear of voter rejection. "Donald Trump knows that in November voters will reject everything he stands for," Johnson said. "Trump is terrified of the sacred power we all hold as voters, and that's why he wants to rig this election."
The White House has justified the removals by arguing the president has authority to remove officials not fully aligned with his election security agenda. The administration cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential power to fire heads of independent agencies. However, election law scholars note that the ruling's application to bipartisan bodies like the EAC remains untested, especially since Congress deliberately structured the commission with an even partisan balance.
The Election Assistance Commission, created after the disputed 2000 election under the Help America Vote Act, does not directly run elections. Instead, it distributes federal election security grants, maintains the national mail voter registration form, certifies voting machines against federal standards, and advises state and local officials. Without a functioning board, the agency cannot update voting standards or modify the federal registration form, potentially freezing administrative changes the administration has pursued.
Benjamin Hovland, one of the ousted commissioners, warned that the agency's loss represents a critical gap in election support. He told NBC News the EAC had served as a clearinghouse helping cash-strapped states share best practices. "When you're asking more and more of people without giving them the necessary resources, mistakes happen," Hovland said, describing the situation as a "death-of-1,000-cuts" scenario where errors accumulate over time.
Cisco Aguilar, Nevada's Democratic secretary of state and chair of the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, criticized the firings as "incredibly irresponsible." He noted that election administrators would now have to fill the gap left by the agency's paralysis, while also contending with a pattern of Trump administration actions that make their work harder.
Replacing the commissioners would require Senate confirmation, a process that could extend well beyond the midterm elections. That timeline means the EAC will likely remain non-functional through the voting period, leaving state and local officials to navigate election administration without federal coordination or support.
Senator Mark Warner of Virginia called the purge alarming and demanded immediate explanation, while other Democratic officials have raised concerns that the administration is manufacturing chaos for election officials nationwide at a time when resources and coordination are most critical.
Author James Rodriguez: "This looks less like administrative reform and more like a calculated effort to destabilize election infrastructure right when it matters most."
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