Full Breakdown
Trump Removes Remaining Election Assistance Commission Commissioners
7/15/2026, 4:32:25 AM
Core Event
In the week preceding a midterm election cycle, President Donald Trump terminated the last three members of the bipartisan U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC). Former chair Thomas Hicks, who had served on the agency for more than a decade, received an email from the White House stating he was “no longer a commissioner” and had been “terminated by President Trump.” The firings effectively neutralized the independent agency that supports state and local election officials.
Agency Functions & Funding
The EAC administers the Help America Vote Act, distributes federal funds to the 8,000 state and local jurisdictions that run elections, audits those funds, serves as a national clearinghouse of election-related information, certifies voting equipment, and runs the national voter-registration forum (motor-voter). For the current cycle the agency received “less than $50 million” for the 50 states and five territories—far below the “more than $400 million” granted during the COVID-19 emergency and the additional security grants that followed.
Responses and Concerns
Hicks believes the agency can operate “pretty well…until November,” but worries about its capacity after the election without commissioners. He noted that the EAC has functioned without commissioners before, though “it didn’t do great,” and that Congress had previously considered eliminating the agency. A recent Supreme Court decision expanding the president’s authority to remove leaders of independent agencies underpins the firings. Hicks expressed uncertainty about the president’s broader objective, suggesting the moves may be tied to “anti-voter rhetoric,” and he is weighing options for contesting his dismissal.
Verbatim Quotes
- “I'm sad that it's under bad circumstances.” — Thomas Hicks, Former Chair, U.S. Election Assistance Commission
- “I got an e-mail from someone in the White House basically saying that I'm no longer a commissioner and I have been terminated by President Trump.” — Thomas Hicks
- “Thomas Hicks: So the agency basically has a few top-line things that we do, one, the Help America Vote Act.” — Thomas Hicks
- “But I think that it might be the anti-voter rhetoric that's going out.” — Thomas Hicks
