WASHINGTON (Azat TV) – President Donald Trump has terminated the remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), an independent federal agency responsible for certifying voting systems and providing guidance on election administration. The move, confirmed by the White House on Thursday, leaves the four-member panel completely vacant just months before the critical November midterm elections.
Impact of the EAC leadership vacuum
The commission, established by the 2002 Help America Vote Act, is designed to be a bipartisan body with two Democratic and two Republican commissioners. According to Reuters, the two Democratic members were dismissed via email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, while the final Republican appointee was forced to resign. A fourth member had previously departed the agency in April.
The removal of all commissioners effectively paralyzes the agency, as it cannot take official actions—such as accrediting testing laboratories or certifying new voting hardware—without a quorum. Election officials across the country rely on the EAC for standardized guidance and resources, a function that critics argue is now in jeopardy.
Legal precedents and presidential authority
The administration’s decision follows a series of recent Supreme Court rulings that expanded the president’s authority to remove members of independent agencies. A White House official stated that the president reserves the right to remove individuals who are not fully aligned with the administration’s mission of “securing America’s elections.” This justification mirrors broader efforts by the Trump administration to exert greater federal oversight over voting processes, which have historically remained under state jurisdiction.
Legal experts suggest that the legality of firing members of independent, bipartisan commissions remains an “open question.” UCLA election law professor Rick Hasen noted that while the Supreme Court has granted broader removal powers, it has not specifically tested whether commissions designed with bipartisan balance are subject to different legal standards.
Concerns over midterm election integrity
The timing of the mass termination has drawn sharp criticism from state officials. Arizona Secretary of State Adrian Fontes labeled the move “irresponsible and dangerous,” warning that it undermines the integrity of nonpartisan election administration at a time when electoral processes are already under intense scrutiny. The administration has maintained that these changes are necessary to safeguard elections from potential fraud, a claim that remains a cornerstone of the president’s ongoing focus on the 2020 election results.
- The EAC currently has no commissioners, preventing the agency from performing its core functions of voting system certification and technical guidance.
- The dismissals rely on a broad interpretation of recent Supreme Court rulings regarding presidential removal powers over independent agency heads.
- State election officials have expressed concern that the loss of federal coordination will create operational chaos during the upcoming midterm cycle.
The dissolution of the EAC’s leadership structure marks a significant shift in federal election oversight, signaling that the administration is prioritizing ideological alignment over the traditional independence of election infrastructure.