In March 2025, Donald Trump tried to seize control of federal elections via a sweeping executive order. That order sought to commandeer the Election Assistance Commission — a bipartisan federal agency that assists state election officials — to execute his anti-voting scheme.

My team and I immediately sued on behalf of the Democratic Party and won a swift victory. A federal judge held that "our Constitution does not allow the President to impose unilateral changes to federal election procedures."

But Trump was not done. He believes he has found a shortcut to undermine the 2026 elections.

On Thursday, Trump fired the Democratic members of the EAC and the remaining Republican commissioner resigned. The agency, which certifies voting machines and publishes election guidance, no longer has any members. It is, for all practical purposes, defunct.

Over the last sixteen months, Trump has concocted new ways to accomplish his goal of restricting voting rights and spreading lies and disinformation.

He has used the Department of Justice to seize ballots. He has appointed a committed election denier to head the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He has repeatedly claimed powers he does not have — including the power to control how states count ballots and certify elections.

Yet Trump's frustration has only grown.

His effort to rig the midterms through partisan gerrymandering fell short. His insistence that Congress pass the SAVE Act, a massive voter suppression law, has failed to produce a bill for him to sign.

His Department of Justice sued 30 states to access sensitive voter data. My law firm intervened to fight all these cases. We are undefeated so far. DOJ is 0-11, including five losses before judges Trump himself nominated.

At the Supreme Court, we recently beat a Republican National Committee lawsuit that would have limited voting by mail. Trump's latest executive order aimed at the U.S. Postal Service's handling of mail-in ballot delivery was recently halted by two different federal courts. Another judge blocked Trump's plan to have states use the federal SAVE database to disqualify voter registrations.

Nearly everywhere he turns, Trump sees his administration and his allies losing in court. His decision to fire the entire EAC took place against this backdrop...