Overview
- President Trump cleared the four-member Election Assistance Commission between July 13 and July 14, leaving the agency with no commissioners and no statutory way to operate its full duties without new Senate-confirmed appointees.
- The EAC oversees federal election grants, accredits testing labs, certifies voting systems and maintains the national mail voter registration form, functions that many states and local election officials rely on to run secure elections.
- The White House cited a recent Supreme Court decision as expanding presidential removal power even as federal courts have blocked parts of the administration’s earlier executive orders that sought proof-of-citizenship changes to federal registration forms.
- The SAVE America Act, which would require documentary proof of citizenship and stronger photo-ID rules, has passed the House but stalled in the Senate and Republicans are exploring alternate vehicles and budget tactics to revive parts of it.
- Separately, the Justice Department Civil Rights Division has sent letters to states seeking voter-roll data and warning of enforcement, a move that has increased legal fights with state officials and raised the risk of further friction before the midterms.