On July 9, President Donald Trump (R) removed the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), leaving the four-seat commission without any members.

The EAC is a federal commission responsible for developing election administration guidance and helping states comply with federal voting law. The commission comprises four members, with two from each of the two major political parties. The commissioners are appointed by the president, subject to the advice and consent of the U.S. Senate.

According to multiple outlets, Trump fired the two Democratic commissioners, Thomas Hicks and Benjamin Hovland, and requested the resignation of the one remaining Republican commissioner, Christy McCormick. The fourth commissioner, Donald Palmer, resigned from the commission in April to accept a position at the Heritage Foundation.

A White House official stated, "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."

On June 29, the U.S. Supreme Court in Trump v. Slaughter upheld Trump’s dismissal of Federal Trade Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter, ruling that it is within the president’s executive powers to dismiss members of the independent agency.

In an interview with the news outlet Votebeat, Rick Hasen, professor of election law at the University of California, Los Angeles, said that it was unclear whether the Supreme Court’s ruling applied to the EAC and Federal Election Commission, as "the question has not been tested as to whether political entities created with bipartisan balance might be subject to another exception."

The dismissed members have not indicated whether they might file a lawsuit challenging the action.

The dismissal of the three members means that the EAC is unable to conduct official business until at least three new commissioners are appointed by the president and confirmed by the U.S. Senate. According to Aaron Blacksberg, federal policy counsel at the Institute for Responsive Government, "With no commissioners, the agency’s authority will go to the EAC Executive Director, who has limited authority to continue running EAC operations as outlined in the EAC’s Roles and Responsibilities policy." The EAC has full-time staff members in addition to the four commissioners.

The EAC previously operated without a quorum of commissioners between 2010 and 2014 until the U.S. Senate approved three commissioners, including Hicks and McCormick.

The EAC’s responsibilities include creating and maintaining federal standards for voting equipment and accrediting and certifying laboratories to test voting systems. The agency also helps states comply with the Help America Vote Act of 2002 and maintains the national mail voter registration form that the National Voter Registration Act requires states to use.