Trump Guts Election Commission Months Before Midterms
NEWS & RESEARCH
In July 2026, President Trump ousted all of the remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a bipartisan federal agency that supports state and local election officials by distributing grants, certifying voting machines against federal standards, and sharing best practices. The commission, created by Congress in 2003, is meant to have two Democratic and two Republican members. However, Trump—empowered by the Supreme Court's recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter, which held that the president may remove leaders of most independent agencies at will—fired the EAC's two Democrats and allowed its remaining Republican to resign. (The second Republican seat was already vacant.) With no commissioners left to vote, the EAC is effectively paralyzed. The move comes just months before the 2026 midterms, and UCLA law professor Rick Hasen suggested that the administration may be trying to "delegitimiz[e] the election system as a whole, which could benefit Trump in the event that Democrats win in midterm elections." Others see the move as something pettier: Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar said, “It’s a bit of a tantrum by the president.” In March 2025, Trump had issued an executive order directing the EAC to update the national voter registration form—the template for each state's form—to require that would-be voters provide proof of their US citizenship, but the EAC resisted the change. Clearing out the commission gives Trump the chance to fill it with appointees more willing to carry out his directives.
SOURCES: Washington Post | The Guardian | ProPublica | Votebeat | Democracy Docket
ANALYSIS & OPINION
Trump’s move may have little impact on the 2026 elections, because the commission has already issued the majority of its grants and certified most of the voting systems that will be used in November. The long-term implications are more serious, though, as extended vacancies could undermine the security and integrity of US elections. As Dustin Czarny, a county elections commissioner in New York, put it, "If…the Election Assistance Commission cannot act, then training is going to come to a halt, the new [voting system] guidelines are going to come to a halt as we're trying to certify new equipment." Still, Trump's decision to fire the EAC members may well face legal challenges. Despite Trump v. Slaughter, the Supreme Court also ruled that the president cannot fire a Federal Reserve governor, since the Fed is structured to ensure independence from the political branches. Some argue that the bipartisan EAC falls into the same category as the Fed—which would mean that Trump lacked the legal authority to fire the commissioners. Either way, many believe Trump overstepped. As Maureen Ebodor, a professor at the Washington and Lee School of Law, said, "The EAC was created by Congress to provide independent, bipartisan assistance and resources to state and local election officials, not to serve as an instrument of presidential election policy." Trump’s actions are just the latest in his efforts to influence elections, despite the fact that the Constitution explicitly grants that power to the states and Congress.
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HOW TO FIX IT
Federal action:
Pass legislation that removes the incentive to fire commissioners at any bipartisan federal commission by making empty seats fill themselves. Congress could authorize federal courts to appoint temporary commissioners when a seat sits vacant too long—a mechanism that already exists for US Attorneys—or have qualified officials from an agency's own bipartisan advisory bodies automatically step in. The EAC is not an isolated case. The Federal Election Commission has lacked a quorum since April 2025, after Trump dismissed one commissioner and two others departed. He has since declined to fill those seats, leaving it below the four votes needed for any major enforcement action. To make the fix permanent, the same law could put nominations on a clock—if the president fails to nominate within a fixed window, a nominee recommended by congressional leaders would automatically advance to a Senate floor vote.
Automatically void any new policy adopted without a quorum. Congress could provide that if any bipartisan federal commission—the EAC included—adopts a new policy while lacking a properly seated quorum, that action is nullified unless a future, fully constituted commission ratifies it. Routine work already required by law, such as distributing approved grants and certifying equipment, would continue. The rule would close the most dangerous loophole that the firings created, since a compliant staffer could otherwise push through changes the commissioners themselves refused to make. That risk is real—in a 2014 case, a federal appeals court upheld an official decision the EAC's executive director issued while every commissioner seat was vacant, and some experts believe the director retains that authority today.
Put election grant money on autopilot. The EAC distributes federal grants that states use to upgrade voting equipment and secure elections, and Congress currently funds them year to year through the agency. Instead, Congress could appropriate the money on a multi-year basis and send it to states automatically by formula, the way federal highway funding works—so a frozen or captured EAC could not hold up a single dollar.
Litigation:
States could seek a court order compelling the agency to carry out its legally required functions, such as distributing grants Congress has already approved. States could also challenge any new policy the EAC attempts without a quorum—such as changing the national voter registration form—as exceeding the agency's legal authority.
