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The repeal leaves the federal election commission vacant as Trump seeks sweeping changes to US voting laws.
Published on 10 Jul 2026
President Donald Trump has fired the last remaining members of the independent agency that oversees U.S. elections, leaving the bicameral agency with no commissioners.
The White House confirmed the news on Friday, months before November midterm elections.
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“The President, and the head of the Executive Branch, have the right to remove people who do not cooperate with the important work of getting American elections,” the White House said.
It added that the authorities have been “working with all the organizations and local partners to protect the elections from fraud and abuse” in the run-up to the polls.
The decision concerns the Election Assistance Commission (ECA), an independent office created by Congress in 2002 to assist state officials and election administrators. Some of its duties include making non-binding election guidelines, issuing voting certificates and maintaining the voter registration form.
Four commissioners usually oversee the agency. But on Thursday, two Democratic nominees — Thomas Hick and Benjamin Hovland — were fired by email, according to Reuters.
The only remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned. A fourth commissioner, Republican nominee Donald Palmer, had already left in April.
The committee is supposed to be created by law to be equal between Democrats and Republicans, and it was created to help after the 2000 presidential election.
Trump’s decision to fire the remaining commissioners has also raised concerns that they could interfere in next year’s midterm elections, which will determine Congress’ control for the rest of his term.
Under the US Constitution, the administration of elections is the responsibility of the state, not the government.
The Election Assistance Commission previously rejected a section of Trump’s March 2025 law that required him to require proof of citizenship on voter registration forms.
A federal judge later blocked part of the executive order, saying the president had exceeded his powers. Trump has appealed the decision.
Voters are already required to verify their citizenship before voting, as non-citizen voting is not allowed in the US. Non-citizen voting incidents are rare.
The firing is the latest in a wide-ranging effort by the president to overhaul the way elections are held.
The Trump administration has forced that set polling rules for posting and threatened to withhold funds from countries that refuse to comply with the requirements for new elections. Many of those efforts have been challenged in court.
Earlier this week, government officials also sent letters warning election officials that they could be prosecuted if they fail to remove non-citizens from the ballot.
Trump has defended what needs to be done to protect the integrity of the election. He has repeatedly claimed that his loss to Democrat Joe Biden in the 2020 election was due to fraud, which is not supported by evidence.
The latest firing comes after the US Supreme Court last month expanded the president’s power to remove members of independent agencies, even without cause.
The court ruled 6 to 3 in Trump’s favor, saying that “neither Congress nor the courts can shut down” the president and the leaders of the branches they disapprove of.
The president is allowed by law to appoint other people on behalf of the board. It remains unclear whether Trump intends to appoint successors or leave the seats vacant.
