Washington, D.C. — President Donald Trump’s removal of the remaining members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission has left the bipartisan agency without commissioners months before the 2026 midterm elections.
ProPublica first reported that Trump fired Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, while Republican commissioner Christy McCormick was allowed to resign. Reuters and AP also reported the removals, which leave the four-member commission vacant after Republican Don Palmer resigned earlier this year.
The EAC was created after the disputed 2000 election under the Help America Vote Act. It supports state and local election officials, certifies voting systems, distributes federal election-security grants, and maintains the national mail voter registration form. The agency describes itself as an independent, bipartisan commission focused on election administration.
Democrats and voting-rights groups sharply criticized the firings. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the move an attempt to seize control of elections, while the NAACP accused Trump of trying to “rig” the midterms. The White House defended the decision, saying the president can remove officials not aligned with his election-security agenda.
The removals come as Trump continues pushing proof-of-citizenship requirements for voter registration through the SAVE America Act and related executive actions. New commissioners would require Senate confirmation.
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