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Trump Officials Explored Ways to Sidestep Election Agency Before Firings, Sources Say · GNN Daily Breaking News

• 0:00
  Speaker 1: Senior Trump administration officials sought methods to bypass the Election
• 0:04
  Speaker 1: Assistants Commission EAC before ultimately firing its members. According to
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  Speaker 1: sources familiar with internal deliberations, the move, which followed a
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  Speaker 1: Supreme Court ruling expanding presidential authority over independent agencies, left
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  Speaker 1: the bipartisan body vacant just months before the twenty twenty
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  Speaker 1: six mid terms. The EAC, established in two thousand two
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  Speaker 1: to certify voting systems and oversee the national mail voter
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  Speaker 1: registration form, had resisted Trump's March twenty twenty five executive
• 0:37
  Speaker 1: order requiring proof of citizenship for voter registration. A federal
• 0:42
  Speaker 1: judge blocked the order, ruling it exceeded presidential authority, but
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  Speaker 1: Trump appealed. Officials reportedly considered ways to sidestep the commission's
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  Speaker 1: oversight role before resorting to dismissals. Commissioners Thomas Hicks and
• 0:57
  Speaker 1: Benjamin Hovland, both Democrats, were fired by email. Christy McCormick,
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  Speaker 1: a Republican, resigned, while Donald Palmer had departed earlier in April.
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  Speaker 1: With no sitting commissioners, the EAC cannot certify new voting systems,
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  Speaker 1: distribute grants to states, or update registration forms functions critical
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  Speaker 1: to election administration. Critics argue the firings undermined by partisan
• 1:24
  Speaker 1: oversight and weaken election integrity, while supporters insist the move
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  Speaker 1: aligns the commission with Trump's agenda of securing America's elections.
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  Speaker 1: Analysts warned that sidelining the EAC could complicate preparations for
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  Speaker 1: November's mid terms, especially for states reliant on federal certification
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  Speaker 1: and funding. The broader context reflects Trump's strategy to expand
• 1:48
  Speaker 1: federal influence over elections traditionally managed by states. The firings
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  Speaker 1: intensify partisan battles over election administration, raising concerns about transparency
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  Speaker 1: and federal overach. International observers have also noted the shake up,
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  Speaker 1: warning it could erode confidence in US democratic processes as
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  Speaker 1: the midterms approach. The absence of EAC leadership leaves a
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  Speaker 1: vacuum in federal election oversight, with implications for both voter
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  Speaker 1: access and the credibility of the electoral system.