Trump dismisses all EAC commissioners, dissolving agency

President Donald Trump removed all remaining commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, July 9, 2026, effectively dissolving the independent federal agency tasked with assisting state election officials. The action followed a recent Supreme Court ruling that significantly expanded presidential authority over such bodies.

The White House Presidential Personnel Office terminated the two Democratic commissioners, Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, via email. The sole Republican commissioner, Christy McCormick, resigned. The email to the Democratic appointees stated their positions were terminated effective immediately and thanked them for their service.

The move directly invokes the Supreme Court's decision in Slaughter v. United States, which affirmed a president's power to dismiss leaders of independent agencies. Election administration experts had anticipated the ruling could threaten the EAC's existence. A former agency official said the commission had been a "dead man walking" since that decision and a prior executive order.

That executive order, signed by Trump in 2025, directed the EAC to add a proof-of-citizenship requirement to the federal voter...