The commission now has no members several months before the midterm elections.
President Donald Trump has terminated two of the remaining three members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), and the third member resigned, according to the White House.
“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. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so,” a White House official told The Epoch Times in a July 10 email.
The Supreme Court said in a June 29 decision in Trump v. Slaughter that the president has the authority to fire officials under his control. The ruling upheld Trump’s termination of Rebecca Slaughter, a Federal Trade Commission commissioner.
Trump fired EAC Chairman Thomas Hicks, a Democrat appointed by former President Barack Obama, and Commissioner Benjamin Hovland, a Democrat appointed by Trump during the president’s first term.
Commissioner Christy McCormick, a Republican Obama appointee, resigned, according to the White House.
Under federal law, the EAC is supposed to have four commissioners nominated by the president with advice from Republicans and Democrats in Congress. No more than two commissioners can belong to the same political party. Commissioners can serve up to two consecutive terms.
The law outlines how the commission is a national resource for federal election administration and directs it to compile guidance on issues such as provisional voting and voting by mail.
“The Administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections,” the White House official said.
Some Democrats criticized the move.
