Trump ousts members of bipartisan election commission ahead of midterms

Trump ousts members of bipartisan election commission ahead of midterms. President Donald Trump has ousted the remaining commissioners from a bipartisan federal agency charged with helping state and local officials conduct elections in an apparent move to assert control over voting ahead of the midterms. The president removed the two Democratic members of the Election Assistance Commission on Thursday while a Republican was allowed to resign, according to a White House official and three other people familiar with the dismissals. The two Democratic commissioners — Chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — were fired from their roles, according to the three of the people familiar with the dismissals, who were granted anonymity to discuss the news. Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was allowed to resign. The removals came days after the Supreme Court ruled that presidents have broad discretion over leadership in the federal bureaucracy, expanding the president's ability to fire the heads at nearly every agency except the Federal Reserve. "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," said the official, who was granted anonymity to discuss what the White House sees as an internal matter. The White House official explicitly referenced that recent decision in explaining the firings, saying it "gives the President precedence to do so."