President Trump fired all three commissioners of the U.S. Election Assistance Commission on Thursday, July 9. For the first time in the agency's history, it now has no one in charge Reuters.

The three people fired were Benjamin Hovland, Thomas Hicks, and Christy McCormick. Hovland and Hicks were Democrats. McCormick was a Republican. Hovland spoke publicly about his firing for the first time on NPR radio on July 13 NPR.

The Election Assistance Commission is a federal agency that watches over elections. It approves voting machines, gives states federal money for election security, and sets standards for how elections should run. Congress designed the agency so that no single political party could control it. The law says no more than two commissioners can be from the same party, and they serve at different times to spread power evenly Votebeat.

Firing McCormick—the only Republican commissioner—alongside the two Democrats is unusual. Normally, Congress set things up so each party would always have a voice. The White House has not said why McCormick was fired.

Before the firings happened, officials in the Trump administration looked for ways to work around the commission, Reuters reported. Some inside the administration were frustrated that the commission was slow to update its voting machine standards Reuters. On the same day as the firings, the administration also tied some state grants to adoption of election security measures Reuters.

With no commissioners in place, the agency cannot vote on decisions that need official approval. States and election officials rely on the commission to test and approve voting equipment and distribute federal election money. These issues will be urgent as the November 2026 midterm elections approach.

Trump has the legal power to fire these commissioners. It is not clear if special legal protections apply to this agency, and no one has sued over these firings yet.

The administration will need to nominate new commissioners to fill all four open seats. The Senate will have to vote to approve them. Since the election is months away, how fast the nominations and approvals happen will affect whether the agency can do its job in time.