The Federal Election Commission has largely ground to a halt after losing its quorum following the departure of Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson.
The six-member commission is now down to just three as Dickerson’s term expired after a Wednesday meeting, and no replacement has been appointed. A quorum of four is needed for the agency to conduct most business, including holding meetings, making new rules, issuing guidance, voting on investigations, conducting audits, and fining violators of election laws. It will still be able to accept and publish campaign finance disclosure reports.
In addition to Dickerson’s departure, Republican Commissioner Sean Cooksey resigned in January, and Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub was fired by President Donald Trump in February. She is currently waging a legal battle to keep her position, but hasn’t attended any meetings since.
The loss of its quorum presents a major problem for the agency responsible for enforcing election law, as the process to replace commissioners is lengthy. Trump must nominate new commissioners who will need to be confirmed by the Senate, but none have been put forward yet despite vacancies beginning in January.
The FEC faced a similar dilemma during Trump’s first term, when the agency was paralyzed for much of the 2020 election cycle. Cooksey was one of those nominated by Trump to fill the vacancies.
Democratic Commissioner Dara Lindenbaum predicted to News of the United States that the quorum would be regained “soon-ish,” and Republican Commissioner Trey Trainor said he doesn’t “anticipate [it taking] a prolonged period of time.”
Until then, watchdogs have expressed worries that the agency’s paralysis could lead to cascading problems.
“Without a quorum, the FEC is a watchdog without a bark or bite,” Michael Beckel, senior research director at Issue One, told Politico. “Losing its quorum defangs the FEC at a time when the robust scrutiny of money in politics is needed more than ever.”
The FEC isn’t the only agency to have lost its quorum during Trump’s second term — the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the National Labor Relations Board are also without a quorum, likewise paralyzing them.
Trump has been largely mute regarding the FEC, but his intentions were made clear in a Feb. 18 executive order seeking to increase his control over independent agencies in the executive branch.
“Previous administrations have allowed so-called ‘independent regulatory agencies’ to operate with minimal Presidential supervision. These regulatory agencies currently exercise substantial executive authority without sufficient accountability to the President, and through him, to the American people. Moreover, these regulatory agencies have been permitted to promulgate significant regulations without review by the President,” the order read.
It added that, “in order to improve the administration of the executive branch and to increase regulatory officials’ accountability to the American people, it shall be the policy of the executive branch to ensure Presidential supervision and control of the entire executive branch,” which included “so-called independent agencies.”
The FEC must always be divided between three democrats and three republicans, limiting Trump’s ability to get a loyalist majority. While it may be in his best interest to keep the FEC paralyzed, some of his Democratic critics have proposed the same.
“It’s terrible to have a non-functioning FEC,” Campaign Legal Center executive director Adav Noti told CNN. “But, between having a non-functioning FEC and an FEC that the president can use to prosecute his political opponents, it’s probably better that they not have their quorum for now.”
FEC DISMISSES COMPLAINT AGAINST NPR ACCUSING IT OF ADVOCATING HARRIS
Speaking with NPR, Noti noted that the FEC had been asked “dozens and dozens of times” since 2020 to weigh in on matters relating to Trump.
Even when having a quorum, the FEC is infamous for being paralyzed due to its nature. Four commissioners must assent for any decision to be reached, a difficult task in a polarized environment.