The Democratic Party is taking President Donald Trump to court, accusing him of overstepping his authority and illegally trying to tighten his grip on federal agencies—particularly those meant to oversee campaign finance.
The Democratic National Committee, Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee filed a civil lawsuit on Friday in response to Trump’s executive order signed on Feb. 18, which sought to give political appointees far-reaching control of federal agencies. One such agency is the Federal Election Commission, which oversees and enforces campaign spending and finance laws.
Top Democratic leaders aren’t holding back.
DNC Chair Ken Martin, DSCC Chair Kirsten Gillibrand, and DCCC Chair Suzan DelBene called Trump’s order a “blatant power grab by a corrupt Republican administration to help maintain their lock on power ahead of the 2026 elections.”
“You can’t remove the referees from the field because you don’t like some of the calls they’ve made, and now, Trump is taking it a step further and aiming to tell the referees which calls to make – rendering the agency completely incapable of fairly administering and enforcing the law,” their joint statement said. “This clearly illegal move will undermine the free and fair elections that are a cornerstone of our democracy.”
The Democrats contend that a single person or entity should not be given authority to enforce campaign finance laws. This would create a significant conflict of interest, which could compromise agency decisions.
The lawsuit, filed in Washington, D.C., against Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi argues that the executive order eliminates the judgment of a multimember board and instead replaces “bipartisan consensus with the judgment of a single partisan political figure—the President of the United States.”
The lawsuit also cited 90-year legal precedent that the executive branch dismissed in Trump’s executive order.
“As the Supreme Court has held for 90 years, it ‘cannot well be doubted’ that Congress possesses the authority to insulate from presidential micromanagement agencies that are led by a multimember, bipartisan board that performs quasi-judicial and quasi-legislative functions—that is, agencies like the FEC,” the lawsuit states.
Since being elected to lead the DNC on Feb. 1, Martin has voiced his new vision for the party. Meanwhile, Democratic voters reported being angry with the party and the way lawmakers have responded to Trump since being sworn in.
Democrats are drawing a clear line in the sand with this lawsuit. As they try to convince the courts that Trump’s executive order is an unconstitutional overreach that threatens the integrity of U.S. elections, whether they win or lose could set a precedent for how much influence a president can wield over independent agencies.
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