DESCRIPTION

On February 28, 2025, the Democratic National Committee et al. filed a lawsuit against President Trump, the Attorney General, the FEC, and the individual commissioners in their official capacities. The plaintiffs allege that Executive Order 14215, issued by the administration in February 2025, unlawfully infringes upon the authority of independent agencies. ELC collaborated with FEC commissioner Ellen Weintraub – whom Trump attempted to fire in January 2025 – to submit an amicus brief demonstrating how the Order renders the FEC subservient to, rather than independent of, the President. As the sole agency that regulates the President, the brief emphasized that Congress undeniably intended for the FEC to operate free from overt presidential influence. It asserted that the recent Order, viewed in the context of other significant events such as Commissioner Weintraub’s purported firing, is part of a broader attack on agency autonomy and the administrative state. In the realm of election regulations, this lack of impartiality is unlike successful election administration regimes globally and threatens to undermine confidence in the electoral process.