Donald Trump removes final members of independent US election commission

The dismissals leave the federal election body vacant as Trump presses for broader changes to US voting rules.President Donald Trump has removed the last remaining members of an independent federal commission that helps support United States elections, leaving the bipartisan body with no sitting commissioners.The White House confirmed the news on Friday, with only months to spare before November’s midterm elections.Recommended Stories list of 3 itemslist 1 of 3US Supreme Court upholds birthright citizenship: Who wins, who loses?list 2 of 3Despite marquee losses, Supreme Court term grows Trump’s presidential powerlist 3 of 3US Supreme Court hands wealthy donors more sway with latest decisionend of list“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,” the White House said in a statement.It added that the administration had been “working across all agencies and local partners to safeguard elections from fraud and abuse” in the run-up to the midterms.The decision concerns the Election Assistance Commission (ECA), an independence office created by Congress in 2002 to support state and local election officials. Among its duties are creating non-binding election guidelines, certifying voting systems and maintaining the national mail voter registration form.Four commissioners typically helm the agency. But on Thursday, the two Democratic appointees — Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland — were fired by email, according to the news agency Reuters.The lone remaining Republican, Christy McCormick, resigned. A fourth commissioner, Republican appointee Donald Palmer, had already left in April.The commission is required by law to be made up evenly of Democrats and Republicans, and it was put in place to help after the disputed 2000 presidential election.Trump’s decision to fire the remaining commissioners has further raised concerns that he may seek to intervene in the upcoming midterm elections, which will decide control of Congress for the rest of his term.