President Donald Trump moved this week to fire the chair of the Federal Election Commission, Democrat Ellen Weintraub, the latest in a line of ousters of Democratic-aligned regulators across the government.
“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of @FEC. There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it,” Weintraub wrote on X on Thursday. “I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”
The FEC’s website lists Weintraub’s seat as vacant as of Friday morning. But in an interview Friday, she contended her removal was illegal.
“I am not aware of an FEC commissioner ever having been fired,” Weintraub said. “There’s nothing in the Federal Election Campaign Act that suggests that that is an option.”
The commission is designed to have six members, with no more than three members from any party. Before Weintraub’s apparent removal, the agency had three Democrats and two Republicans, with one open seat after former commissioner Sean Cooksey joined Vice President JD Vance’s office as counsel.
Weintraub is one of a group of commissioners that has served after their terms expired, although members are allowed to remain until a replacement is confirmed by the Senate. She was appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002, and her term concluded in 2007, and Trump has not nominated a replacement.
Weintraub said the holdover status was written by Congress “with an eye towards protecting the agency from political interference.”
In order to function, the commission must have at least four members. Twice during Trump’s first term, the board was down to three members and was unable to enforce election law. Weintraub said her removal would put the commission on the brink of dormancy without a voting quorum.
Since issuing her statement online, Weintraub said she has not heard from the White House. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
A spokesperson for the FEC declined to comment when asked if Weintraub was still on the commission, and the FEC announced Thursday morning that its upcoming meeting on Feb. 13 had been canceled.
Groups that advocate for strict campaign finance regulations and enforcement quickly criticized Trump’s attempt to fire the commissioner.
“In claiming to fire a commissioner of the Federal Election Commission, the president violates the law, the separation of powers, and generations of Supreme Court precedent,” Trevor Potter, a former Republican chair of the FEC and president of Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement. “With multiple FEC commissioners serving on expired terms and one vacant seat, Trump is free to nominate multiple new commissioners and to allow Congress to perform its constitutional role of advice and consent.”
Weintraub said she fully supports being replaced as long as it’s done properly. “I absolutely believe in following the laws,” she said.
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