Donald Trump removes final members of independent US election commission

The Trump administration has completed the removal of all sitting commissioners from the Election Assistance Commission, a bipartisan federal agency established by Congress in 2002 to support state and local election officials. The White House confirmed the dismissals on Friday, stating that the President reserves the right to remove individuals not aligned with election security efforts. Two Democratic appointees were terminated by email, while the remaining Republican commissioner resigned, leaving the agency without any active leadership ahead of the midterm elections.

The Election Assistance Commission is statutorily required to maintain equal representation from both major parties and performs critical functions including developing election guidelines, certifying voting systems, and maintaining the national mail voter registration form. The agency was created following the disputed 2000 presidential election to help standardize election administration across states. The current vacancies represent a significant departure from the commission's intended bipartisan structure.

This action follows Trump's broader efforts to reshape election procedures, including attempts to require proof of citizenship on voter registration forms—a requirement that a federal judge blocked after determining the President exceeded his authority. The administration has also pushed to tighten mail-voting rules and threatened to withhold federal funding from states that do not adopt new election requirements. Election administration remains constitutionally a state responsibility rather than a federal function.