Trump removes two Democratic election commissioners ahead of midterms

Donald Trump removed the two Democratic members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday and allowed Republican commissioner Christy McCormick to resign, leaving the federal elections agency without leadership as the November midterms approach.

The moves stripped the four-member commission of its final sitting officials after Democrat Thomas Hicks and Republican Christy McCormick were sworn in on January 13, 2015, and Democrat Benjamin Hovland on February 4, 2019. Another commissioner, Donald Palmer, had already resigned on April 29, 2026.

The EAC was created by Congress in 2002 under the Help America Vote Act, which was written after the disputed 2000 election and the Florida recount. It was designed as an independent, bipartisan commission, with four presidential appointees confirmed by the Senate and no more than two from the same political party. The structure was meant to insulate the agency from direct White House control while still giving Washington a role in setting basic standards for how elections are administered.

The EAC does not run elections or count ballots. Instead, it serves as a national clearinghouse for election administration, issues guidance to state and local officials, certifies voting systems, accredits testing laboratories, oversees Help America Vote Act election-security grants and maintains the federal mail voter registration form. It also conducts the biennial election administration survey that helps track how states handle voting operations.

The White House said Trump reserved the right to remove people who may not be aligned with securing elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The administration also cited the Supreme Court’s Trump v. Slaughter decision as support for presidential removal power. The president had already tried in March 2025 to force changes to the federal mail voter registration form so it would require proof of citizenship and to block EAC funds from states that did not add a citizenship check. Courts blocked both efforts.

States depend on it for voting-system certification, grant distribution and technical guidance. The agency can still perform limited work through staff, including some grant and certification functions, but without commissioners it cannot conduct normal business or set policy because official action requires at least three votes.