Trump fires members of US federal election commission

(From left) EAC commissioner Thomas Hicks, and members Christy McCormick and Ben Hovland have been fired. PIC@www.eac.gov

Four months from the US midterm election, US President Donald J Trump has fired the remaining three members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC). The sudden decision has now disabled the only federal agency whose sole mandate was election administration. This also comes at a time when Trump has sought to reshape federal voting rules.

Democrat lawmakers have called the firings an "attempt to increase its control over US elections", which are the purview of the states; and as "undermining election integrity" ahead of November's midterm elections, when control of Congress will be at stake.

Chuck Schumer, senior minority leader, called the dismissals a brazen attempt to seize control of the American elections even before a single vote is cast in the midterms.

US president Donald J Trump and Chuck Schumer, Senior minority leader

Even though the agency remains operational, without a quorum, it now cannot take up any new work - effectively making it obsolete. Some of this new work would have been implementing changes to voting procedures or the national mail voter registration form.

"The administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections," the White House said on Friday in a statement, when asked about the move.

Trump and his allies have pressed Congress to adopt nationwide voting changes and argued that some voting systems require upgrades, as Trump continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him.

In a Thursday statement confirming the firings, the White House cited a Supreme Court decision in June that granted the President more power to fire members of independent agencies.

"(The President) reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America's elections," the statement said.

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