by Ellen Weintraub, chairman of the US Federal Election Commission (FEC), revealed Thursday that she had received a letter from President Donald Trump stating that she had been removed from her position.
However, she quickly rejected the action and did not label the removal as not valid under the law. “Receive a letter from Potu’s today who claims to remove me as a commissioner and chairman,” wrote Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat, Thursday evening on X.
“There is a legal way to replace FEC commissioners – this is not,” she said, accompanied by a screenshot of a letter signed by Trump.
The letter stated: “You will be removed as a member of the Federal Election Commission, immediately in force.”
Today received a letter from Potus who claims to delete me as a commissioner and chairman of @FEC. There is a legal way to replace FEC commissioners it is not. I was lucky to serve the American people and arouse some good problems along the way. That does not change quickly. pic.twitter.com/7voecn2vpj
– Ellen L. Weintraub (@ellweintraub.Bsky.social) (@ellenlweintraub) February 6, 2025
Weintraub appointed by President George W. Bush in 2002 and served the FEC for more than two decades.
“I was lucky to serve the American people and arouse some good problems along the way. That is not changing quickly,” she said in her post.
Although her official period went five years after her appointment, the lack of a replacement passed her as an “acting” commissioner, Reuters reported.
According to the FEC website, she has been an avid advocate for meaningful reforms of campaign financing and has insisted on more transparency in election-related financing.
In an interview with the New York Times on Thursday, Weintraub, a frequent critic of Trump, stated that she was not particularly shocked by the president’s attempt to dismiss her, adding that she had expected such an action.
“Dozens of complaints have been submitted to the president,” Weintraub told The Times. “I pointed to that. I wrote about this. So I am not really surprised that I am on their radar.”
In 2020, Weintraub publicly disagreed with Trump after he claimed that the expansion of mail-in votes would lead to widespread voters fraud.
The FEC, an independent agency that is responsible for maintaining the federal campaign funding laws, is under strict guidelines. Commissioners are appointed by the president and must be confirmed by the Senate.
An important provision is that no more than three supervisory directors can belong to the same political party. In addition, at least four votes are needed to take official action. The structure was designed to promote impartial decision -making, De Hill reported.
The federal legislation mandatory that FEC commissioners serve six-year periods, but they can stay in their role beyond their duration until the president appoints a successor, who must then be confirmed by the Senate.
The agency has more than 300 employees, all under the supervision of six supervisory directors. The VICE chairman of the FEC, James Trainor, is a member of the Republican Party.
Since the performance of his office, Trump has initiated an important overhaul of the government. He has rejected or put hundreds of officials and high -ranking officials in his efforts to reduce the size of the bureaucracy and to identify more of his loyal supporters into key positions.
