Trump fires remaining Election Assistance Commission members ahead of midterms

President Donald Trump has ousted all remaining members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission (EAC), leaving the agency without a quorum and unable to act months before the 2026 midterm elections. The move, confirmed by the White House on Friday, removes the only federal agency devoted solely to election administration.

What happened

Two Democratic commissioners – Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland – were fired via email on Thursday. The sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, was allowed to resign. A fourth seat had been vacant since April when Republican Donald Palmer left for a private-sector job. Source: AP News The White House cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential power to fire heads of independent agencies. Source: CNBC

Reaction

Democrats and voting-rights groups condemned the purge as a blatant attempt to interfere with the midterms. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called it a "brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast." Source: The Guardian The NAACP president said Trump is "terrified" of voters and trying to "rig" the election. Source: The Guardian Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes warned the move "undermines the integrity of nonpartisan election administration." Source: CNN

The White House defended the firings as necessary to "secure America's elections" and noted the administration has been "working across all agencies to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse." Source: Al Jazeera

Context and impact

The EAC was created by the Help America Vote Act of 2002 to distribute grants, certify voting machines, and maintain the national mail voter registration form. Without commissioners, it cannot approve new business or changes to election procedures. While some experts say the impact on the midterms will be limited Source: DW, others argue it will disrupt grant distribution and voting-system certification ahead of November. Source: Los Angeles Times The move follows Trump's repeated false claims of 2020 election fraud and his push for proof-of-citizenship voter registration requirements, which a federal judge blocked. Source: AP News