President Trump has moved to reshape one of the federal bodies tied to the running of American elections. According to Fox 26, the president has fired two of the three members of the federal Election Assistance Commission, a step the report says will eliminate the ability of federal officials to prepare for the 2026 midterm elections that are now less than a year and a half away.
The two officials who were removed had a specific political lineage. According to the account, the commissioners had been selected by congressional Democrats, and each of them received an email the previous day informing them that they were being fired. The dismissals were delivered directly, leaving the commission with only a single remaining member.
The immediate practical effect, as described in the report, falls on the commission's ability to do its work. With two of its three members gone, Fox 26 reported that federal officials would be unable to carry out the preparations that would normally be underway for the 2026 midterms, raising questions about how that groundwork will be handled going forward.
The timing, however, was framed as limited in its immediate reach. According to the report, the move likely will not impact the elections coming up in November, suggesting that the more significant consequences, if any, would be felt further down the line as the country moves toward the following year's midterm contests rather than in the near term.
The firings were also placed in a broader pattern. According to Fox 26, the decision represents the latest instance of the president trying to push White House influence over how U.S. elections are handled, part of a wider effort by the administration to assert greater control over the machinery and oversight surrounding the electoral process.
The action also follows a significant legal development that appears to have cleared the way for it. According to the report, the removals come after the Supreme Court recently ruled that the president can fire members of independent agency boards without cause, a decision that has expanded the White House's ability to remove officials at bodies that had traditionally operated at some distance from direct presidential control.