Trump sought to bypass the federal election agency before firing its members

Before dismissing the commissioners of the Election Assistance Commission this week, the White House had explored ways to bypass the agency by using emergency powers, according to sources familiar with the matter.

Last year, the White House considered using emergency powers to impose changes to voting systems without going through the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), the bipartisan federal agency responsible for overseeing U.S. elections. This option, which was never implemented, was put forward by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, which proposed declaring a national emergency and creating a federal task force to address alleged vulnerabilities in voting systems.

On Thursday, Donald Trump ultimately chose a different path: he dismissed the two Democratic commissioners of the EAC. The sole remaining Republican commissioner immediately resigned, a fourth member having already left office in April. The agency remains technically operational, but without a quorum, it can no longer approve new measures or modify election procedures.

Several points of contention had fueled tensions between the Trump administration and the EAC: a delay in updating guidelines for states on voting machines, the refusal to include a citizenship verification requirement on the national mail-in voter registration form, and more generally, the administration's failure to address its election priorities. Officials from the Department of Homeland Security, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and the White House met with commission leaders to convey these grievances, including allegations of fraud in the 2020 election, which have been largely refuted.

The White House justified these decisions on Friday, stating it was working to "protect the elections from fraud and abuse" ahead of the November midterm elections. Experts, however, believe these dismissals will have no tangible impact on the vote. They come shortly after a Supreme Court ruling authorizing the president to remove members of independent agency boards without having to provide a reason.

Trump, who continues to falsely claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him, has for several years sought to impose changes to voting rules nationwide, despite the fact that the US Constitution gives states primary jurisdiction over elections.

On the Democratic side, the reaction was swift. Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer called the dismissals "a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast in the midterms." Created in 2002 under President George W. Bush, the EAC distributes federal grants to states, oversees voting system testing, and manages the national voter registration form.