Trump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission

2026 ElectionTrump ousts remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission ahead of midtermsThe dismissals hamstring a key bipartisan agency just months before the midterms.Listen to this article with a free profile00:0000:00The Election Assistance Commission helps state and local officials run their elections.Spencer Platt / Getty Images fileShareAdd NBC News to GoogleJuly 9, 2026, 7:53 PM EDT / Updated July 9, 2026, 10:13 PM EDTBy Jane C. Timm and Jonathan AllenThe White House ousted all three sitting members of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, hamstringing the bipartisan agency ahead of the midterm elections.Subscribe to read this story ad-freeGet unlimited access to ad-free articles and exclusive content.The Democratic commissioners — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin W. Hovland — were fired by email, two people familiar with their terminations said. One of the sources also said Republican commissioner Christy McCormick received a call and was asked to resign.“They will be replaced,” said a White House official who confirmed that all three commissioners are gone. Presidential appointments to the EAC are subject to Senate confirmation — by no means a quick process.White House aide Morgan DeWitt Snow sent the Democratic commissioners a brief email of termination around 4 p.m. ET, one of the people familiar with the dismissals said.“On behalf of President Donald J. Trump, I’m writing to inform you that your position as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated effective immediately. Thank you for your service,” the person said the email read.The EAC is a bipartisan commission that helps state and local officials run elections, certifying election equipment and working with other agencies to ensure state and local elections run smoothly. From 2018 to 2025, it distributed more than $1 billion in grants for election security, according to the Bipartisan Policy Center.Hovland, one of the Democratic commissioners, told NBC News h...