All three remaining members of the federal body tasked with administering elections have been fired or resigned, Scripps News has learned.
Scripps News confirmed on Thursday that Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland were fired, while Republican Christy McCormick resigned her post.
The agency's fourth commissioner, Republican Donald Palmer, resigned in April of this year. He later joined the Heritage Foundation.
There are now no commissioners remaining to lead the agency, which is a bipartisan board created to guide and inform states as they administer their elections. Its stated mission is "to help election officials improve the administration of elections and help Americans participate in the voting process."
A White House official confirmed the firings on Thursday:
"The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted. The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so," said the official. "The Administration from the start has been working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse, and investing in a strong infrastructure to sustain that mission especially in the midterm elections."
The move comes days after the U.S. Supreme Court's final Slaughter decision, which expanded the president's power to remove executive branch officials with few exceptions.
That case began with a 6-3 decision in September of 2025. President Trump had fired Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission. The firing was allowed to stand until the case was decided.
