Trump Removes Final Election Assistance Commission Members Before Midterms

Trump Removes Final Election Assistance Commission Members Before Midterms. President Donald Trump has removed the final three members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission, leaving the independent federal agency without commissioners just months before the 2026 midterm elections and raising questions about how it will carry out statutory duties until new members are confirmed. The White House confirmed Thursday that Democrat-appointed commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were dismissed effective immediately, while Republican Commissioner Christy McCormick's resignation was accepted. Republican Commissioner Donald Palmer resigned in April, leaving the commission without a governing board. A White House official said Trump "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." The move follows a June 29 U.S. Supreme Court ruling that significantly expanded presidential authority to remove officials from most independent federal agencies, overturning decades of precedent limiting that power. After the decision, Trump hailed it on social media as "the Greatest Increase in Presidential Power in the last 100 years." Michael Waldman, president and chief executive of the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University School of Law, called the firings "deeply concerning in light of President Trump's relentless efforts to try to interfere in elections."