Trump guts independent elections board ahead of the midterms. President Donald Trump dismantled a long-standing bipartisan elections board Thursday, four months before a midterm contest that will determine which party controls Congress. Trump dismissed members of the Elections Assistance Commission less than two weeks after the Supreme Court gave the president broad leeway to reshape boards that were designed to be independent. Congress created the panel to strengthen and secure elections in response to the challenges of the 2000 contest and structured it so no more than two of its four members belong to the same political party. President Donald Trump fired two Democratic members of the Elections Assistance Commission and received the resignation of a Republican member.