With the recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter affirming the right of presidents to fire members of the “independent” commissions, President Donald Trump took out the newly recognized power for a spin by removing the members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). He removed the commissioners over their failure to implement voter identification and security policies. The question now is how the EAC will operate as a zombie commission without active commissioners. It turns out that this is not the first time that the EAC has been devoid of living members, though critics are likely to say that the EAC has always been moribund.
“the President must have the assistance of officers he can trust. Although it is up to the Senate to decide whether to confirm those with whom the President would prefer to work, neither Congress nor the courts may saddle him with those with whom he cannot work. Subordinates who exercise the President’s power are subject to removal by him. Then, and only then, can they remain accountable to the President, and the President to the people.”
The move is the first use of the power recognized in Slaughter, and it was expressly cited in the termination notice:
“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so.”
The absence of active members creates an obvious power vacuum, as the Commission rules require an affirmative vote by at least three commissioners to conduct official business. Notably, the Commission has previously had no active members or a working quorum.
Until the Senate confirms new commissioners (which statutorily has meant an evenly divided partisan makeup), the EAC can continue to function even if it cannot establish new rules or policies. For example, it can continue to certify equipment and disburse grants through its Executive Director, General Counsel, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Financial Officer, and staff.
It can even hold hearings and meetings to gather new information and data.
Moreover, it is the states that continue to administer elections for the most part under our constitutional system. Congress does have concurrent jurisdiction for federal elections and this move is likely to refocus attention on the pending legislative reforms being pushed by the Trump Administration.
Given the current state of affairs in Congress and the late date of the move, this is unlikely to make material differences in the midterm elections. However, it is the first salvo from a newly invested president over such independent commissions.
Sorry, Professor, but with the dems, it was zombie before. They are a party of zombies, nearly every last one. I did not used to feel this way; thanks Barack, Nancy, George et. al. The aforementioned may be unethical and serpentine, but were not brain dead. That has changed. Aaaaaa! POWER, er . . . BRAINS!.
I can only assume that Trump’s EAC firings are related to “their failure to implement voter identification and security policies” pursuant to Trump’s March 2025 E.O.
The E.O. has NOT been stricken by any court, -but certain provisions therein HAVE been, e.g., requiring mail-in ballots be received by Election Day. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2025/03/preserving-and-protecting-the-integrity-of-american-elections/
By analogy, if we must pause and wait while business establishments scan our $ Benjamins for counterfeit money; and several states (less than 20?) use holograms and lenticular prints to authenticate drivers licenses and state ID; I fail to understand why the federal government cannot compel similar technology in ALL states. I’ve had to show my driver’s license every time I vote.
I like the decision to clean house. Less people to pay. I assume that they did not work for free if they did anything useful at all.
I would also agree with pbinca. In this digital world, hooking up all the means of obtaining citizenship legitimately should be connected and able to be quickly searched. I would add fingerprints at age 18 and dna testing done at birth as a backup.
If anything the proof of citizenship and right to vote should be clearly stated in 1 national law and apply to all states.
If naturalized then that certificate should be immediately digitized and join the national database immediately. Same with overseas dependent birth.
Confusion, obfuscation, and lack of clarity in any manner only aids corruption and fraud.
“Your honor, there’s an old saying that everything looks like a conspiracy to those who don’t know how anything works. And that sums up this case in a nutshell.”
That pretty much sums up DJT and all of MAGA.
Imagine a government with far fewer commissions 😊
Exactly 😉
No worries, those fired commissioners can go get a job with the Dept of Education and continue to do nothing while being paid.
One important fact to add to the story – Commissioner McCormick was an Obama appointed Republican which does not require any additional explanation for most people to understand her name was next on the chopping block anyway! The commission staff can carry on with ministerial duties but no more decrees from this bunch nor can any disputes be heard or ruled upon. Straight to the Black Robe Illuminati for disputes which cuts time and the BS maze down!
Black robe … as it should be. Does anyone really know what the commission did? What policies, rules or regulations they implemented? No you don’t. So why was it undertaken? Most likely not. However, Despite lacking commissioners, EAC staff retain authority to continue disbursing existing election security grants and maintain current voting system certifications under prior approvals. However, the agency cannot adopt new voluntary voting system guidelines, expand program scopes, or execute votes without Senate-confirmed commissioners in place. Checkmate. Game to Trump.
No other developed nation would accept the sort of insecure electoral processes that are considered normal in many Democrat-run states and localities. Refusing to require even minimal proof of eligibility to vote is a disgrace and leads directly to fraud. Voting should not be easier than boarding a commercial flight, or entering the U.S. Capitol or the Obama library in Chicago. Let’s pay more homeless people for ballots, while saying it never happens.
100% correct.
Voting by US Citizens should be as easy as boarding a plane.
This is a fundamental tenet of secure systems — that legitimate users not be impeded by the security system, while making it impossible for illegitimate users. That takes finesse.
The main problem with America SAVES is that there is no rapid, systematic and fraud-proof way to prove you’re a US Citizen. If we were smart and determined, this is something that could be reasonably achieved. But it’s not a 4 month project. Four years?…yes. It means networking all systems that record the awarding of US Citizenship: county birth records, Naturalizations, Citizenships by Derivation, overseas births to US Citizen parents, and foreign adoptions.
If we develop this capability, we’ll suddenly be able to solve other gnarly problems. We can replace birthplace citizenship with Citizenship Inheritance. That will enable us to have Foreign Exchange programs for young professionals which don’t serve as a backdoor for anchor babies — where the Exchange Workers return home after their stint in the US. We can prevent ICE from mistakenly arresting US Citizens, the proof of who is a Citizen readily on-the-spot.
Voting should never be cajoled or nudged by 1:1 pressure. Instead of trying to end mail-in voting (which is convenient in many regards), why not extend anti-electioneering law to mail-in voting? This would end GOTV, vote farming, and any individual outreach by campaigns or surrogates using voter registration lists.
Finally, we need Public Frauds Civil Torts law to deter candidates, campaigns and their media surrogates from employing deceptive infowarfare as a form of political competition. Fast Public Frauds courts would interrupt these infowarfare plays the same day they are dropped. By including media as co-respondents in these suits, we would deter amplification of falsehoods.
These are the reforms we need to make elections free and fair.
“These are the reforms we need to make elections free and fair.”
In the meantime, there is an arguable crisis looming for the 2026 and 2028 elections that threatens to undermine the true will of the (legitimate) voters and could conceivably create a situation that would perpetuate the current weak (if not nonexistent) checks and balances of the system to the benefit of a specific political group for an indefinitely long time, which creates an obvious incentive for that empowered group to obstruct any meaningful reform. What immediate steps would you recommend to defuse that crisis that would not involve some possible inconveniences on legitimate voters?
No other developed nation would accept… You do not know as a fact that the PRC or Russia, or South Africa, have better voting systems than “Democrat run states and localities” the USA, or for that matter any country. That’s complete nonsense.
Got any facts to go along with that rant?