Trump removes Democratic FEC commissioner ‘effective immediately’

President Trump dismissed Federal Election Commission Chair Ellen Weintraub from service on Friday following in his series of firings from various government agencies. 

“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 Thursday in a post on the social platform X, accompanied by a screenshot of a letter signed by Trump.

“I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”

Weintraub was first appointed to serve on the commission by former President George W. Bush in 2002. Her term expired five years later, but no successor was appointed to take her place, allowing her to serve as an “acting” commissioner for more than two decades. 

“You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately,” the president wrote in his Jan. 31 memo to the commissioner, who’s chaired the agency for four terms. 

He did not outline any efforts to nominate a replacement for Weintraub. 

The FEC is an independent, regulatory agency tasked with enforcing campaign finance laws and overseeing the nation’s federal elections.

The agency has more than 300 employees who are led by six Commissioners. 

By law, no more than three Commissioners can represent the same political party, and at least four votes are required for any official Commission action, according to the agency. 

The structure is intended to encourage nonpartisan decisions.