President Donald Trump has forced out the three remaining members of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC), dismantling the independent board that helps states and local officials carry out elections just four months before the pivotal midterms.
The President on Thursday fired the two Democratic members of the commission, Chairman Thomas Hicks and former Chairman Benjamin Hovland, the latter of whom was nominated by Trump himself during his first term. Republican Commissioner Christy McCormick also resigned, a White House official confirms to TIME.
This leaves all four seats on the EAC vacant ahead of the midterms. Donald Palmer, the other Republican commissioner, resigned in April.
The White House official tells TIME that Trump “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.”
Read More: Trump Claims Mail-In Voting Is ‘Corrupt.’ But Research Indicates Fraud Is Very, Very Rare
They add that the Supreme Court’s recent decision in Trump v. Slaughter “gives the President precedence to do so.” That ruling, issued by the Court last month, expanded the President’s power to fire the leaders of independent agencies such as the Federal Trade Commission at will.
“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 official adds.
Trump has long touted false claims that U.S. elections are mired with widespread fraud and abuse, and has drawn on that baseless narrative to aggressively push for restricting practices such as mail-in voting and imposing stricter identification requirements for voters.
It is not yet clear whether Trump will appoint new commissioners to the board, or what will happen with the EAC if all
