Trump fires FEC Chair Weintraub, collapsing campaign finance enforcement

President Trump fired Democratic FEC Chair Ellen Weintraub, who had served as a commissioner since 2002, in an unprecedented removal of an independent regulatory commissioner without cause and without consulting minority party congressional leaders. Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson then resigned, leaving the FEC below the four-commissioner quorum required to enforce campaign finance laws, hold meetings, or take any enforcement action. As of February 2026, the FEC had been effectively defunct since May 2025, with Trump nominations to restore quorum pending Senate confirmation.