Ahead of Midterms, Trump Terminates Election Assistance Commission Leaders

PROVIDENCE, RI – As President Donald Trump continues dismantling election security safeguards , the Trump Administration officially ousted the three remaining members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) . The EAC is an independent, federal election watchdog commission that serves as a “national clearinghouse of information on election administration,” accredits testing laboratories and certifies voting systems, and maintains the national mail voter registration form developed by the National Voter Registration Act of 1993. The EAC manages and distributes federal grants to states and local jurisdictions to improve election infrastructure, update voting equipment, enhance cybersecurity, ensure accessibility, and support voter education initiatives. As a result of Trump’s terminations, the EAC, which is responsible for assisting election administration officials nationwide, is now leaderless, rudderless, and powerless to do its job just four months out from Election Day 2026. U.S. Senator Jack Reed today joined voting rights and election integrity advocates in condemning President Trump’s move, which he believes is a sign Trump wants to meddle with the upcoming midterms. Senator Reed says the goal should be to strengthen America’s election system and ensure lawful and impartial voting, but instead President Trump is seeking to remove safeguards and seize power for himself. “We’ve got to protect Americans right to vote and ensure the security, integrity, and accuracy of our elections. But President Trump is seeking to undermine federal voter protections and unduly influence and interfere with the outcome of elections this fall. This move is part of a broader pattern by the president to seize unchecked control over election outcomes. This includes Trump’s executive order to try and grant himself more power; unlawful voter data collection; attempts to instruct the U.S. Postal Service to refuse to deliver ballots to some eligible voters; the erecting of new barriers to voting; and gutting the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) that helps non-partisan election workers across the country. The list of hyper-partisan moves goes on and on and it’s all geared toward undermining the upcoming mid-terms,” said Reed. “This is an attempt to silence and sideline election security experts by a partisan president who wants to remove bipartisan guardrails and seize power over elections for himself.” The Constitution gives states and Congress – not the president -- the power to run elections. In fact, the founders were very clear about the dangers of putting elections in the purview and control of one person. Still, Trump has attempted to ignore the Constitution and seize new powers for himself. “The American people deserve strong election laws so eligible voters can cast their ballot and have it accurately counted. Meanwhile, President Trump wants to disenfranchise millions – mostly women and people of color – and become the first president in U.S. history who gets to be the final arbiter of state-run elections. His unworkable, so-called SAVE Act would impose new voting restrictions on millions and generate election year chaos,” said Reed. “If President Trump cared about election integrity, he would help make more resources available to states to ensure free and fair elections. Instead, he is doing the opposite.” The EAC commissioners on the bipartisan panel were forced off the commission by the Trump Administration yesterday in starkly contrasting ways: The one remaining Republican appointee was given the option to resign while the two Democratic appointees were simply notified of their termination, without explanation, via an email by the White House Presidential Personnel Office.