President Donald Trump is attempting to remove Ellen Weintraub, the chair of the Federal Election Commission, but the official who has been in office for over twenty-two years says she will not leave. Over the years Weintraub has called out Trump for promoting lies about election integrity and safety.
On Thursday, Weintraub posted a letter that she had received from Trump informing her “you are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately.”
In response, Weintraub wrote, “There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.”
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Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner and Chair of the FEC. There's a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn't it. I've been so fortunate to serve the American people and stir up some good trouble along the way. That's not changing anytime soon.
— Ellen L. Weintraub (@ellenlweintraub.bsky.social) 2025-02-06T23:41:05.134Z
As The New York Times explained the removal process, “A commissioner is removed only after a replacement is nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, and Ms. Weintraub said that the president did not have the power to force her off the commission before that. Mr. Trump did not name a successor to Ms. Weintraub in his letter, and it would take weeks at least for his choice for commissioner to be approved by the Senate.”
The commission is an independent agency of the U.S. government with oversight of campaign law and policy. Weintraub has been with the commission since 2002 and has been the chair since January.
Weintraub noted to The New York Times that there have been “dozens of complaints” about allegations of election law violations against Trump, but because the commission is at a 3-3 partisan deadlock, many of those claims have not been investigated.
“I have pointed that out. I’ve written about this. So I’m not really surprised that I am on their radar,” she said.
In 2019, Trump claimed at a rally that there was voter fraud in New Hampshire during the 2016 election and that was the reason he lost there to Sec. Hillary Clinton.
“SAD: Last night, @realDonaldTrump again made unfounded claims about massive voter fraud in NH in 2016,” Weintraub wrote at the time. “In this letter, I ask him to back up his claims in terms a former casino operator should understand: ‘There comes a time when you need to lay your cards on the table or fold.’”
As has frequently been the case, Trump never offered any proof of his claim.
That year Weintraub also took Trump to task after he said that any debate about election security was “meaningless” without adding voter ID.
Weintraub responded, “Not this again. Russians were impersonating Americans on #Facebook, not in person at polls. It's well past time to get serious about defending democracy from *real* threats identified by national security experts. Support the bipartisan bills that will protect our 2020 elections.”
Conservatives have often championed voter ID laws, largely because when such laws are put in place it suppresses votes by minority communities and youth voters—both constituencies that have historically supported Democrats in overwhelming numbers.
Republicans have complained about Weintraub’s advocacy for truth on election issues for years, even as Trump has been convicted for crimes relating to his campaign expenditures. Now he is using the power of the presidency to get rid of another critic, but she is not going quietly—if at all.
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