President Donald Trump is facing sharp criticism following his decision to fire the remaining three members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a move described by opponents as a “brazen attempt” to seize control of the electoral process. By effectively paralyzing the agency, the administration has eliminated the only federal body dedicated exclusively to election administration just months before the upcoming midterm elections.
The terminations were carried out on Thursday, with the commission’s two Democratic members, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, receiving notification of their immediate dismissal via email. Christy McCormick, the sole remaining Republican on the panel, was reportedly pushed to resign. A fourth seat on the commission had already been vacant since Republican member Donald Palmer departed for the Heritage Foundation earlier this year.
Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer condemned the purge, stating that the president is gutting an independent agency responsible for certifying voting systems and assisting officials with secure election operations. Schumer emphasized that Senate Democrats intend to challenge this action, asserting that the American public, rather than the president, should determine the outcome of the 2026 elections. The White House has defended the move, citing a recent Supreme Court ruling that expands presidential authority to remove heads of independent agencies, though legal scholars note that the reach of this ruling into bipartisan bodies like the EAC remains untested.
Critics, including NAACP president Derrick Johnson, have characterized the move as a desperate effort to influence the electoral landscape. Johnson accused the administration of attempting to suppress voter power through this restructuring. Meanwhile, other officials have expressed alarm over the operational impact of the decision. Nevada Secretary of State Cisco Aguilar, who chairs the Democratic Association of Secretaries of State, labeled the firings “incredibly irresponsible,” warning that they will force state and local officials to fill a significant void in support and cybersecurity resources.
Established under the Help America Vote Act following the 2000 election, the EAC does not conduct elections itself but provides essential services, including the maintenance of the national mail voter registration form, the distribution of federal security grants, and the certification of voting machines. Without any commissioners to vote on formal actions, the agency is now effectively unable to update voting standards or federal registration forms. This paralysis could stall administration-backed changes, such as a proposed citizenship documentation requirement that has already faced judicial hurdles. Any future replacements for the fired commissioners would require Senate confirmation, a process likely to extend well beyond the midterm elections.
Other Democrats have since piled on. Senator Mark Warner, of Virginia, said the purge “should concern every American … that demands an immediate explanation”, while Arizona’s Democratic secretary of state, Adrian Fontes, accused the administration of manufacturing chaos for election officials nationwide.
“When you’re asking more and more of people without giving them the necessary resources, you know, mistakes happen,” he said. “It feels much more like a death-of-1,000-cuts situation than there’s one particular thing that you’re concerned about.”
