Trump fires federal election commissioners ahead of midterms - NBC News
President Trump has terminated all three commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission ahead of the midterm elections. The move has raised concerns about the agency's ability to support state and local election administration.
Why it matters
The sudden removal of the entire bipartisan commission creates a leadership vacuum that could disrupt election security and administrative support during a critical voting period.
The White House ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, hamstringing the bipartisan agency ahead of the midterm elections. The Democratic commissioners — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin W. Hovland — were fired by email, two people familiar with their terminations said. One of the sources also said Republican commissioner Christy McCormick received a call and was asked to resign. “They will be replaced,” said a White House official who confirmed that all three commissioners are gone. Presidential appointments to the EAC are subject to Senate confirmation — by no means a quick process. White House aide Morgan DeWitt Snow sent the Democratic commissioners a brief email of termination around 4 p.m. ET, one of the people familiar with the dismissals said. “On behalf of President Donald J.
Get smarter about the news
Sign up free for a feed built around what you actually care about, Dive Deeper research on any story, and the full text of every article.
Create free accountAlready have an account? Sign in