After a resignation last week left the Federal Election Commission effectively shut down, Vermont officials are raising concerns that, without action from President Donald Trump, there could be no enforcement of campaign finance laws during the 2020 election.
Vermont Secretary of State Jim Condos warned that, unless the president appoints new members to the commission, it could lead to a “wild, Wild West” situation where politicians are not reporting the sources of their donations, and how they are using their funds.
The resignation of Matthew Petersen, who served as the FEC vice chair, last week rendered the agency charged with enforcing the nation’s campaign laws effectively immobilized. Without Petersen, there are just three current members of the total six-member panel — an insufficient number for a quorum.
Until new commissioners are appointed, the FEC will not be able to fine organizations and politicians for violating campaign finance law, produce new rules to regulate campaign donations, or vote on the outcome of investigations.
In recent interviews, both Condos and Sen. Patrick Leahy, D-Vt., who sits on the Senate Judiciary Committee, said a powerless FEC could be detrimental to democracy and the electoral process as 2020 primaries and caucuses approach.
“It begs the question why the president is not taking this as a serious issue,” Condos said. “What is he trying to hide as he goes into the 2020 election?”
“You would think that he wants a transparent election process going forward because it only makes him look better if it is,” he said.
There are currently only three FEC commissioners: Ellen L. Weintraub, a Democrat who is the chair of the agency; Caroline C. Hunter, a Republican; and Steven T. Walther, an independent.
In a statement to the Center for Public Integrity, Weintraub said the FEC would continue to do its job and “will still be able to shine a strong spot light on the finances of the 2020 campaign.”
Commissioners will continue reviewing case files, and the agency will continue working on ongoing audits, processing disclosure reports and fulfilling other business, Hunter told the Center for Public Integrity.
But, without a quorum, its enforcement abilities are severely curtailed.
The FEC’s paralysis could continue for months as the president does not seem to have made it a priority and members of Congress are expected to fight over Trump’s candidates for the agency. The president’s FEC nominees need to be confirmed by the Senate.
The president has put forward attorney Trey Trainor, a Republican, but the Senate has not held any hearings on his nomination.
In the past, presidents have followed a tradition of nominating FEC members in pairs — one Republican, and one Democrat, according to the Center for Public Integrity.
Leahy said that in the past, there has typically been bipartisan support to fill these vacancies, and that the current stalemate is an anomaly.
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and other Senate Republicans want to clean house at the FEC and approve six new commissioners, replacing Weintraub — who has been critical of Trump, Bloomberg reports.
However, Senate Democrats are advocating that Republicans and the president fill the existing openings to restore the power to the commission.
Leahy said if the president does not appoint new FEC commissioners soon it could leave U.S. elections more vulnerable to tampering by foreign governments, and may lead to states choosing to violate the Voting Rights Act without consequences.
“These are the things that normally the commission would look at and stop,” Leahy said. “Now they can’t make any decisions, whether they want to or not.”
“It’s just a way of neutralizing them,” he added.
