President Donald Trump removed the final members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, leaving the independent, bipartisan agency without any sitting commissioners four months before the 2026 midterm elections.
Thomas Hicks and Christy McCormick, both nominated by former President Barack Obama and unanimously confirmed by the Senate, were dismissed through emails from the White House Presidential Personnel Office. Benjamin Hovland, who was nominated by Trump during his first term and also received unanimous Senate confirmation, resigned as the administration moved against the commission.
The fourth seat had been vacant since Republican commissioner Donald Palmer departed in April.
The removals leave no commissioners overseeing an agency that certifies voting systems, accredits voting-equipment testing laboratories, administers federal election grants and maintains the national mail voter-registration form.
The White House defended the decision by asserting that the president can remove officials who do not support his election agenda.
“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted,” a White House official said in a statement reported by Reuters.
The administration cited a recent Supreme Court ruling that expanded presidential authority to remove officials from independent federal agencies. That decision has weakened statutory protections Congress created to insulate certain agencies from direct political control.
Congress established the Election Assistance Commission through the Help America Vote Act of 2002 in response to the disputed 2000 presidential election and widespread problems with voting systems and election administration.
The law created a four-member commission with no more than two members belonging to the same political party. Candidates are nominated by the president based on recommendations from Democratic and Republican leaders in Congress and must be confirmed by the Senate.
The structure was intended to maintain bipartisan oversight while providing technical support to the state and local officials who actually conduct elections.
The commission does not count ballots, certify election winners or directly administer polling places. Its less visible responsibilities, however, affect election operations across the country.
The agency develops voluntary voting-system guidelines and oversees the federal testing and certification program used to evaluate voting equipment. It audits the use of election funds distributed under the Help America Vote Act and provides guidance on security, accessibility, disaster planning and the recruitment and training of election workers.
It also maintains the federal mail voter-registration form created under the National Voter Registration Act. That role has placed the commission at the center of the Trump administration’s effort to require documentary proof of citizenship for voter registration.
Trump previously tried to direct the commission through an executive order to add a citizenship-document requirement to the federal form. Courts blocked portions of the administration’s election order, finding that the president had attempted to exercise authority assigned by Congress to states or independent agencies.
The president has also urged Congress to enact nationwide voter-identification and proof-of-citizenship requirements, restrictions on mail voting and limits on when mailed ballots may be counted.
Noncitizen voting in federal elections is already illegal. Voting-rights organizations and election administrators have warned that documentary requirements can prevent eligible citizens from registering when they lack ready access to a passport, birth certificate or other qualifying record.
Married voters whose names no longer match their birth certificates, naturalized citizens, tribal citizens, elderly voters and people born outside hospitals could face added obstacles under strict proof-of-citizenship systems.
The removal of all sitting commissioners gives the administration an opportunity to nominate an entirely new commission while election officials are preparing for November.
Replacement commissioners would require Senate confirmation, and federal law would still require the body to include members recommended by both parties. It remains unclear when Trump will submit nominations, whether the Senate could act before the midterms or how closely any nominees would be expected to follow White House election policy.
The commission’s professional staff may continue some routine operations, but the absence of commissioners could prevent or delay actions requiring formal votes or commission approval.
Votebeat reported that the vacancies could leave the agency unable to take certain official actions. The immediate operational consequences will depend on which matters can legally be handled by staff and which require commissioners.
The White House’s statement also raises questions about the independence of future nominees. Its assertion that commissioners should be “aligned” with the president conflicts with the commission’s congressionally mandated bipartisan design and its role as a technical resource for election officials of both parties.
All three departing commissioners had been unanimously confirmed by the Senate, a sign that they previously received support across party lines.
Trump’s action also comes as his administration seeks greater federal involvement in election administration, an area largely controlled by states. Reuters has reported that federal officials have requested voter records and information from state and local election administrators as part of investigations tied to Trump’s continuing claims about election fraud.
Trump has continued to claim without evidence that the 2020 presidential election was rigged against him. Courts, state officials, election audits and members of his own administration found no fraud capable of changing the outcome.
The commission’s removal from bipartisan leadership does not transfer control of state elections to the White House. States and local jurisdictions will continue operating polling places, managing voter rolls and counting ballots.
Still, the federal agency responsible for certifying voting equipment and coordinating national election resources now has no commissioners at a time when local officials are preparing for threats ranging from cyberattacks and disinformation to staffing shortages and political violence.
Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., said the timing and scope of the action require an explanation from the administration.
“Removing every remaining commissioner just months before the 2026 midterm elections is an extraordinary step that demands an immediate explanation from the administration and raises profound concerns about political interference in the institutions that support our elections,” Warner said.
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