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Trump removed the remaining members of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission, leaving it unable to act before the 2026 midterms

On July 9, 2026, President Trump terminated the two remaining Democratic members of the independent, bipartisan Election Assistance Commission — chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — who were notified by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, while the sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned. The removals left the four-member commission with no commissioners and therefore unable to take official action just months before the 2026 midterm elections. The EAC maintains the national mail voter registration form, certifies voting systems, and provides guidance to state and local election officials.

Part of: Trump Administration Assertions of Federal Authority Over State Election Administration

Jurisdiction
Federal
Location
Washington, D.C.

Abuses documented

Actors

On July 9, 2026, President Donald Trump terminated the remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the independent, bipartisan federal agency Congress created through the 2002 Help America Vote Act to support election administration. The commission's two Democratic members — chair Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — were notified of their termination by email from the White House Presidential Personnel Office, effective immediately, while the commission's sole remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned. A fourth commissioner, Republican Donald Palmer, had already departed earlier in 2026.

The EAC is a four-member body whose commissioners are presidentially nominated and Senate-confirmed, with no more than two permitted from the same party. It maintains the national mail voter registration form, tests and certifies voting systems, distributes federal election funds, and issues guidance to state and local election officials. With no commissioners remaining, the agency lacks the quorum required to take official action, months before the 2026 midterm elections.

A White House official cited the Supreme Court's late-June Slaughter decision, which strengthened presidential removal power over leaders of independent agencies, stating that the president "reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned" with election-security goals; whether that authority extends to a bipartisan election agency remains legally untested. The Brennan Center for Justice said the removals left the agency "without leadership and unable to carry out its major responsibilities."

Why we recorded this

Congress created the Election Assistance Commission as an independent, bipartisan body — no more than two of its four members from one party — precisely so that federal election administration would not be controlled by a single political actor. By terminating the commission's remaining members months before the 2026 midterms, President Trump removed independent officials from a body Congress designed to be insulated from presidential control and left it without the quorum it needs to function. This archive records when executive action strips an independent election-administration agency of its capacity to operate.

Sources

  1. Trump fires Election Assistance Commission members, leaving agency unable to act — Votebeat investigative accessed July 10, 2026
  2. President Trump cleans house at the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission — NPR investigative accessed July 10, 2026
  3. In sweeping attack on elections, Trump fires leadership of key federal voting assistance commission — Democracy Docket secondary accessed July 10, 2026

See also