President Donald Trump fired the remaining three members of the independent federal Election Assistance Commission (EAC) on Thursday, effectively shutting down the only federal agency solely focused on election administration just months before the US midterm elections.
Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland received termination notices via email, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was pressured to resign, leaving the bipartisan four-seat panel completely vacant.
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The White House justified the removals by citing a Supreme Court decision on presidential authority over independent agency heads, asserting the administration's power to replace officials to secure elections.
Civil rights leaders and senior Democrats sharply criticized the move, calling it a deliberate attempt to exert control over the voting system ahead of the 2026 elections.
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Derrick Johnson, president of the NAACP, condemned the decision and linked it to broader administration policies.
"Donald Trump knows that in November voters will reject everything he stands for," Johnson said, adding that the NAACP would mobilize voters to counter the administration's actions.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer argued that the vacancies compromise the agency responsible for certifying voting apparatuses.
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"Firing every remaining member of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission months before the midterms is a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast," Schumer said.
He noted that the EAC provides vital administrative support to local election officials and that Senate Democrats would challenge the executive actions.
Former commissioner Benjamin Hovland warned that the lack of leadership risks administrative errors as state officials manage upcoming voting procedures with limited assistance.
"When you're asking more and more of people without giving them the necessary resources, mistakes happen," Hovland said.
Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said local administrators must now absorb the EAC's responsibilities.
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"The EAC plays a critical role in supporting state and local election officials, and it will again fall on secretaries of state and other election administrators to fill the gap," Aguilar said.
