Padilla, Morelle Statement on Firing of Democratic Commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senator Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), Ranking Member of the Senate Rules Committee with jurisdiction over federal elections, and Representative Joe Morelle (D-N.Y.-25), Ranking Member of the Committee on House Administration, released the following statement following the Trump Administration’s firing of the Democratic Commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) — just weeks after the conservative Supreme Court’s unprecedented decision to upend decades of executive power to appease the President — and the resignation of the remaining Republican Commissioner, which leaves the EAC without any leadership less than four months before Election Day 2026:
“Here we go again. President Trump is trying to dismantle yet another independent guardrail of our democracy designed to keep elections fair and secure. Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference. Trump continues to double down on his efforts to erode trust in our elections, undermine independent oversight, and further his Administration’s attempt to ‘take over’ elections. Americans deserve elections that are safe, secure, and run free from political interference — not overseen by partisan loyalists and election deniers beholden to Trump.”
Created by the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) of 2002, the EAC is an evenly divided commission of four commissioners where only two may be of any one political party. Commissioners are appointed by the President, subject to advice and consent of the Senate, for up to two four-year terms and “[a] member of the Commission shall serve on the Commission after the expiration of the member's term until the successor of such member has taken office as a member of the Commission,” according to 52 U.S.C. § 20923(b)(3)(B).
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