Federal Election Commission Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub said she received a letter from President Donald Trump telling her she was removed from her position — a notice she said is not legal.
“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of @FEC,” Weintraub said in a post on X. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it. I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way. That’s not changing anytime soon.”
Weintraub showed the letter in her social media post. “You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately,” the White House letter dated Jan. 31 says. “Thank you for your service on the Commission.”
Weintraub is one of three Democrats on the FEC, next to two Republicans and a vacant seat.
The White House responded to Weintraub on Friday morning, maintaining it will continue to pressure her to step down.
“Our message to Ellen Weintraub is simple: you don’t have to go home, but you can’t stay here,” Harrison Fields, White House principal deputy press secretary, told the Washington Examiner. “The President has made a decision on who he’d like to chair the Federal Election Commission (FEC), and it’s not her. Grandstanding over this decision won’t change the President’s mind.”
Trump fired more than a dozen inspectors general within his first week in office, a move considered by some unlawful. It prompted Sens. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Dick Durbin (D-IL) to send him a letter asking to explain the moves and why he didn’t notify Congress.
The Trump administration has sought to reform a great portion of the federal government since its start. Democrats have largely condemned the moves, with Rep. Joe Morelle (D-NY) telling the Washington Examiner that Trump’s actions “demonstrate his disdain for accountability under the law.”
“This onslaught against the FEC—when that agency is currently reviewing complaints against the President—reeks of corruption,” he added. “Despite this disturbing act, I thank Chair Ellen Weintraub for her years of service to the Commission and the country.”
Rep. Jamie Raskin (D-MD) also responded to the Weintraub letter shortly after she posted it.
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“Trump’s political purge continues with this illegal dismissal of Democrat Ellen Weintraub from the FEC,” he wrote on X.
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