Federal Elections Commission Chair Says Trump Tried to Illegally Fire Her

By Courtney Cohn

U.S. Federal Election Commission Commissioner Ellen Weintraub testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, May 22, 2019, before the House Oversight and Reform National Security subcommittee hearing on “Securing U.S. Election Infrastructure and Protecting Political Discourse.” (Carolyn Kaster/AP)

Ellen Weintraub, the chair of the Federal Elections Commission (FEC), said Thursday in a social media post that President Donald Trump tried to illegally remove her from her job. 

Weintraub, a Democrat, has served as an FEC commissioner since 2002 and was just elected as the chair for 2025. She said she received a letter from Trump, dated Jan. 31, saying “You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately.”

However, she pushed back against the letter, saying Trump can’t remove her that way.

“There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners — this isn’t it,” Weintraub said. “I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”

The FEC is an independent, regulatory agency that enforces federal campaign finance law, which includes overseeing campaigns for the House, Senate, president and vice president.

It has over 300 employees, led by six commissioners who are appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. They serve in staggered six-year terms, and two seats are subject to appointment every two years. The commission elects a new chair each year.

While Weintraub’s term expired in 2007, she is still legally allowed to serve, since commissioners can remain at the FEC until a replacement is nominated by a president and confirmed by the Senate. 

Trevor Potter, Republican former chair of the FEC and president of Campaign Legal Center, said in a statement Thursday that Trump violated the law, the separation of powers doctrine and Supreme Court precedent in removing Weintraub.

“As the only agency that regulates the president, Congress intentionally did not grant the president the power to fire FEC commissioners,” Potter said.

He explained there’s another — legal — way for Trump to replace commissioners.

“With multiple FEC commissioners serving on expired terms and one vacant seat, Trump is free to nominate multiple new commissioners and to allow Congress to perform its constitutional role of advice and consent,” Potter said.

Instead, Potter said Trump didn’t follow this process when he “opted to claim to ‘fire’ a single Democratic commissioner who has been an outspoken critic of the president’s lawbreaking and of the FEC’s failure to hold him accountable.”

Democratic members of Congress also weighed in. Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-Md.) said on X that “Trump’s political purge continues with this illegal dismissal” of Weintraub. 

Also, New York Rep. Joe Morelle, ranking member on the House Administration Committee, which oversees the FEC, said Thursday that Trump’s actions “demonstrate his disdain for accountability under the law” and “reeks of corruption.”