With weeks to go before the midterm elections, President Trump has wiped out every member of the nation’s election watchdog commission, raising sharp questions about who really controls how Americans vote.

Story Snapshot

• President Trump has reportedly fired all remaining commissioners on the U.S. Election Assistance Commission, leaving the agency leaderless before the midterms.
• The move comes after Trump’s March 25 executive order that pushed the commission to tighten voter registration rules and cut funds to states that do not comply.
• A recent Supreme Court ruling in Trump v. Slaughter now gives presidents broad power to fire independent agency leaders without cause.
• Election and legal experts warn this pattern of firings and orders could shift control of federal elections away from Congress and the states and into the White House.

What Trump Did to the Election Assistance Commission

The U.S. Election Assistance Commission is a small federal agency that helps states run elections and sets standards for voting systems. Under federal law, it is supposed to be an independent, bipartisan commission, not a political arm of any president. On July 9, 2026, multiple reports and social posts said President Trump dismissed all remaining commissioners, including Democrats Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, and Republican Christy McCormick, by email and formal notice. That left the commission without any sitting members just weeks before Americans head to the polls.

These firings did not happen in a vacuum. In March, Trump signed an executive order telling the commission to add strict proof-of-citizenship rules to the national voter registration form. The order also told the commission to move against states that accept mailed ballots after Election Day and to cut off federal election funds to states that do not follow the new form. Trump has long claimed, without solid evidence, that illegal voting and “cheating” haunt U.S. elections, and he cast this order as a fix.

The New Supreme Court Power Behind the Firings

For most of the last 90 years, presidents could not simply fire leaders of independent agencies because they disagreed with them. That protection came from a 1935 Supreme Court case called Humphrey’s Executor. In June 2026, the Court overturned that barrier in Trump v. Slaughter. The justices ruled 6–3 that Trump could fire a Federal Trade Commission commissioner without cause and struck down “for-cause” limits on firing members of many independent boards.

In that decision, the Court embraced a “unitary executive” view that says the president must be able to remove his appointees at will so he can “faithfully execute” the laws. Legal analysts note the ruling gives Trump and future presidents wide control over about two dozen multi-member agencies that Congress once tried to shield from direct political pressure. Supporters say this makes the government more accountable because voters know the president is in charge. Critics warn it tears down checks on any one person’s power over vital functions, including elections.

Why Election Experts and Lawmakers Are Alarmed

Election specialists at the Brennan Center argue that Trump’s executive order and his push to use the commission as an enforcement arm go beyond his constitutional role. They point out that the Constitution gives Congress and the states the power to set election rules, while the executive branch is supposed to enforce those rules, not rewrite them. Their report calls Trump’s move a “grave threat” to election infrastructure and says using federal agencies to pressure states on voting rules is “in many respects, illegal.”

Democratic Senator Alex Padilla and Representative Joe Morelle, both senior members on election-related committees, sent letters warning that Trump’s order and related actions are an attempted “power grab” over agencies that oversee campaign finance and federal elections. They raised “serious concerns” about the “dangerous implications for elections” if the president can reshape or empty independent commissions that were designed by Congress to stand apart from direct White House control. Their message reflects a broader fear that basic guardrails for free and fair elections are being weakened at the very moment political tensions are highest.

A Bigger Fight Over Who Runs the Government

Trump’s decision to fire all Election Assistance Commission members is part of a larger pattern since his return to office. Reports show he has removed or tried to remove roughly 20 leaders and board members at independent agencies in his second term, often citing policy disputes rather than misconduct. These actions have hit bodies like the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, the Federal Trade Commission, and other boards that traditionally had some insulation from day-to-day politics.

Many Americans on the right and left look at this fight and see the same thing: a federal system that feels more focused on raw power than on solving everyday problems. Conservatives angry over past “woke” rules and weak election security may cheer tougher voter checks but still worry about any system that seems rigged from the top. Liberals upset over voter suppression and deep inequality fear these moves will shut more voices out. What unites them is a growing sense that both parties in Washington, the courts, and the permanent bureaucracy are locked in battles over control, while the basic promise of fair, honest elections slips further out of reach.

Sources:

thegatewaypundit.com, seyfarth.com, youtube.com, responsivegov.org, padilla.senate.gov, supremecourt.gov, eac.gov, facebook.com, littler.com, democracyforward.org, content.govdelivery.com, brennancenter.org, congress.gov