Trump removes remaining Election Assistance Commission members
The White House confirmed the dismissals less than four months before the midterm elections, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling on agency removals.
By Marcus V. Thorne · Markets Editor
· 3 min read
President Donald Trump removed the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission less than four months before the midterm elections, the White House confirmed Friday. The move leaves the independent federal election agency without sitting commissioners after a fourth member, Republican Donald Palmer, departed voluntarily in April for a role at the Heritage Foundation.
The EAC helps administer federal election funding and plays a role in the certification of voting systems used by election officials. Its commissioners have been drawn from both parties, and Democrats said the dismissals weaken an agency that supports state and local election administration ahead of national voting in November.
VoteBeat first reported that Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were dismissed by email on Thursday. VoteBeat also reported that Christy McCormick was permitted to resign. A White House official confirmed those details to CNBC by email.
The White House framed the action as an exercise of presidential authority over the executive branch. “The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted,” a White House official told CNBC.
The official cited the Supreme Court’s late-June decision in a case involving Federal Trade Commissioner Louise Slaughter. In that 6-3 ruling, the court held that Trump had authority to remove Slaughter from the FTC. The White House said the decision supplied precedent for the EAC removals.
Legal basis cited by the White House
The Supreme Court ruling addressed the president’s power to dismiss officials serving on independent agencies that perform executive-branch functions. Such agencies have often operated with statutory limits on removal, designed to preserve some independence from direct White House control. The court’s decision, as described by CNBC, expanded the removal power available to Trump and future presidents over members of those agencies.
The White House official said the administration has worked “across all agencies and local partners” to protect elections from fraud and abuse and to support election infrastructure, with particular attention to the midterms.
Democrats sharply criticized the timing and scope of the removals. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, a New York Democrat, wrote on X that removing every remaining member of the bipartisan EAC months before the midterms was “a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast.”
Schumer also said Trump was dismantling the agency that certifies voting systems and assists election officials in running secure elections.
The dispute comes amid continuing concerns among voting-rights advocates and Democrats about Trump’s election policies. CNBC reported that Trump has repeatedly claimed the 2020 election was stolen from him and has continued to support the SAVE America Act, a measure that would impose stricter voter identification rules and require proof of citizenship to vote.
Over the past year, Trump has also criticized mail voting and raised the idea that Republicans should “nationalize” elections, according to CNBC. The White House has described its election agenda as focused on preventing fraud and ensuring that legal votes are counted.
This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.
