President Trump removed the remaining Democratic commissioners from a bipartisan panel tasked with helping state and local officials conduct elections, four months before the midterm elections that will determine which party controls Congress.
Mr. Trump made the move late Thursday, firing the two Democrats on the Election Assistance Commission, Benjamin Hovland and Thomas Hicks, while Republican Christy McCormick resigned.
The firings and resignations essentially dismantled the commission, which oversees the federal voting registration form and electronic voting.
The moves leave the commission, which was created by Congress in 2002, without any leaders heading into the midterms.
New appointees would need to be confirmed by the Republican-controlled Senate. Under federal law, no more than two commissioners can come from the same party.
The Supreme Court ruled last month that Mr. Trump could fire a Democratic member of the Federal Trade Commission, a decision that gave presidents broad authority to determine who controls federal agencies.
A White House official referred to the case, Trump v. Slaughter, while explaining the firings.
“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 official said. “The Slaughter decision gives the President precedence to do so.”
The official added, “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 election.”
Democrats blasted the move, saying Mr. Trump overstepped his authority to control election outcomes.
“Firing every remaining member of the bipartisan Election Assistance Commission months before the midterms is a brazen attempt to seize control of our elections before a single vote is cast,” said Sen. Majority Leader Charles E. Schumer, New York Democrat, in a statement.
Mr. Schumer accused the president of “gutting” the Election Assistance Commission and vowed that Democrats “will fight this power grab at every turn.”
Sen. Alex Padilla, California Democrat and ranking member of the Senate Rules Committee, and Rep. Joe Morelle, New York Democrat and ranking member of the House Administration Committee, also slammed the move.
“Purging commissioners just months before the midterm elections and further gutting support for our state and local elections officials is a blatant part of his plan to politicize our elections and enable more unlawful and dangerous election interference,” they said in a joint statement.
State and local election officials will still be able to carry out their tasks but would benefit from the support of the Election Assistance Commission.
“Election officials will still be able to administer secure, accessible, and trustworthy elections in November. But they will do so without the full level of support the EAC normally provides,” said Matt Weil, the vice president for governance at the Bipartisan Policy Center, in a statement.
The firings are the latest effort by Mr. Trump to assert his authority over elections as he insists the 2020 election was stolen from him. He has railed against the use of mail ballots and questioned the veracity of voting machines.
Multiple lawsuits and recounts, including some funded by Mr. Trump, have not uncovered solid evidence of voter fraud in the 2020 election.
Mr. Trump’s efforts to overhaul how midterm elections operate included directing the commission to redesign a form so people would have to provide proof of citizenship to register to vote.
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