'Stacking every card in deck': Trump's ex-lawyer warns firing threatens election integrity

WASHINGTON, DC: President Donald Trump’s decision to fire commissioners from the bipartisan election agency continues to draw criticism, with several leaders and political pundits sparking concern about midterm election interventions.

Trump's former lawyer, Ty Cobb, echoed similar concerns Friday, July 10, warning that Trump’s decision to fire the remaining members of the commission threatens the agency's impartiality. Notably, both the members fired were Democrats.

Trump's ex-lawyer questions EAC firing ahead of midterms

Former White House Attorney Ty Cobb, during his appearance on MS NOW, warned that President Trump’s firing decision is part of a “deliberate plan” to put his thumb on the scale of the upcoming midterm elections.

“You can’t look at the termination of the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) as anything other than another effort by one side to try to take over part of the referee role for the elections,” Cobb said.

Cobb, who has become an outspoken Trump critic since leaving the White House in 2018, noted that while the federal courts have been “formidable in withstanding the assault on the rule of law,” Trump’s efforts to install loyalists in all parts of the federal government could not be ignored.

“Those forces are already on the field,” he warned. “I don’t think we can be sanguine about the elections because he is stacking every card in the deck that he can get his hands on.”

In a recent 6-3 ruling, the Supreme Court significantly expanded executive removal power, allowing the president to fire the heads of independent agencies without needing to show "cause."

SCOTUS’s decision overturned a nearly century-old precedent that allowed Congress to insulate those bodies from political interference.

Election Assistance Commission left without commissioners

The White House sent a notice to Democratic commissioners Thomas Hicks and Ben Hovland on Thursday, stating that their appointments had been terminated.

Republican commissioner Christy McCormick also departed the agency, while Republican commissioner Donald Palmer had resigned earlier this year, leaving the commission without any sitting members.

According to an email sent by the White House, commissioners were informed, "On behalf of President Donald J Trump, I am writing to inform you that your position as Commissioner of the Election Assistance Commission is terminated, effective immediately."

“The President, and head of the Executive Branch, reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections and ensuring every legal vote is counted,” a White House official said in a statement.

Democrats slam EAC firing ahead of midterms

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senator Mark Warner criticized the decision, with Schumer describing it as an effort to undermine an independent federal agency responsible for supporting election officials and certifying voting systems.

Responding to the dismissals, Schumer linked the move to Trump's broader election messaging, writing that the president had previously said Republicans should "take over the voting."

"Today, he took another step toward doing exactly that," he added.

Warner questioned the dismissals even before the official announcement, noting that every commissioner had previously been confirmed unanimously by the Senate, including one originally appointed during Trump's first administration.