On July 10, 2026, President Donald Trump dismissed all remaining commissioners of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), a bipartisan federal agency responsible for assisting states in administering elections. The dismissals included Democratic Commissioners Thomas Hicks and Ben Hovland, along with Republican Commissioner Christy McCormick, leaving the agency without leadership just months before the upcoming elections. The fourth commissioner, Donald Palmer, had resigned earlier in the year.
The Democratic Association of Secretaries of State (DASS) criticized the dismissals, stating that the EAC plays a critical role in supporting election officials. DASS Chair Cisco Aguilar expressed concern that the dismissals would hinder the ability of election officials to perform their duties and suggested that the Trump administration's actions have made elections less secure.
Voting rights advocate Max Flugrath indicated that the firings align with Trump's broader efforts to influence election rules following the failure of the SAVE America Act in Congress. Trump previously directed the EAC to implement stricter voter registration requirements and alter certification standards for voting systems.
Legal experts, including election law professor Rick Hasen, raised questions about the implications of the recent Supreme Court ruling that may grant the president broader authority to dismiss officials at independent federal agencies. The Brennan Center for Justice noted that the EAC was designed to function as a bipartisan body, and without a sufficient number of confirmed commissioners, it cannot make significant decisions regarding elections.