President Donald Trump has purged the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a bipartisan agency tasked with helping states run elections smoothly. The four-member commission was reduced to three before Trump removed its two Democratic members, and the remaining Republican member resigned, leaving the EAC without any commissioners.
What Does the EAC Do?
According to its own mission statement, the EAC aims to “help election officials improve the administration of elections and help Americans participate in the voting process.” Its responsibilities include certifying voting systems, providing information to state election administrators, and disbursing election security grants. As Just Security notes, the EAC can still perform most tasks without Senate-confirmed commissioners, but it cannot adopt new policies or update existing ones to address emerging needs.
Context: Supreme Court Ruling Empowers Trump
The dismantling of the EAC follows the Supreme Court's decision in Trump v. Slaughter, which ruled that the president has the power to remove appointees from ostensibly independent federal agencies at will, with the exception of the Federal Reserve. Vox's Zack Beauchamp and Ian Millhiser wrote that the decision significantly boosted Trump's power and created a serious threat of politicization of government.
Impact on Elections
U.S. elections are administered at the state level, limiting how much Trump can interfere ahead of the midterms, especially after Congress rejected his SAVE America Act, which would have imposed new voter ID restrictions. Removing the EAC's leadership will not cause an immediate crisis but eliminates another support for state election workers already facing burnout, threats, and harassment.
