By Bo Erickson and Erin Banco
WASHINGTON, July 17 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration spent more than a year scrutinizing the federal agency that oversees U.S. voting systems, questioning its handling of the 2020 presidential election and vetting potential new leaders before he fired its commissioners last week, according to documents reviewed by Reuters and two people familiar with the discussions.
The previously unreported effort sheds light on the Republican Trump’s push to exert greater influence over federal elections after years of disputing his 2020 loss to Democrat Joe Biden.
The Election Assistance Commission, a little-known bipartisan agency that helps test and certify voting systems, could play a central role as the administration presses for voting and election-administration changes ahead of November’s midterm elections. Republicans say the measures would bolster election security, but Democrats argue they are aimed at restricting voter access.
In a speech on Thursday, the president revived many of his longstanding claims that U.S. elections are unreliable and vowed to work with states to address alleged vulnerabilities in election systems before voters head to the polls.
QUESTIONS ABOUT AGENCY ROLE IN MIDTERM PUSH
“If you look at voting today, it’s in such bad shape in so many states, and we are committing to fix it. And we’re also committing to be working with those states and local jurisdictions to help them fix and patch known technical vulnerabilities before the midterm elections,” Trump said in his remarks. “We want those elections to be honest.”
Trump and the White House have not said what role, if any, they envision for the commission in that effort.
Trump last week fired the agency’s two Democratic commissioners and allowed its lone Republican commissioner to resign, leaving the four-member panel vacant after its other Republican commissioner departed in April.
After the dismissals, the White House said Trump “reserves the right to remove individuals that may not be totally aligned with the important task of securing America’s elections.”
Documents reviewed by Reuters show administration officials were questioning the agency’s work on the 2020 election and its ability to safeguard voting machines, as well as vetting potential new commissioners, long before the firings.
Trump has spent years contesting his 2020 loss despite courts, recounts and election reviews that found no evidence of widespread fraud.
U.S. elections are the purview of the states. The federal election agency develops voluntary guidelines for voting technology used by states and oversees the testing and certification of voting systems. It also has authority to decertify voting systems, though it has never done so in its 24-year-old history.
Before ousting the commission’s leadership, administration officials spent months looking for ways to bypass the agency as they pushed to accelerate initiatives that included changes to voting machine guidance and proof-of-citizenship requirements, Reuters previously reported.
The White House did not respond when asked about the documents reviewed by Reuters or its plans for replacing the commissioners. Any commissioners nominated by Trump need to be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.
OFFICIAL PRESSED AGENCY OVER 2020 SECURE ELECTION CLAIMS
According to correspondence reviewed by Reuters, the election agency’s commission requested a briefing in May 2025 from then-Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard about her public allegations that voting systems were vulnerable to manipulation.
“The EAC stands ready to support ODNI and respectfully requests a classified or unclassified briefing on any identified vulnerabilities,” the letter said.
Gabbard wrote the commission on July 3, 2025, saying she welcomed “the opportunity to strengthen our shared understanding around election system integrity and national risk posture.”
But instead of providing a briefing, ODNI official Paul McNamara that same day sent the commission six pages of questions and complaints that repeatedly referenced the 2020 election, according to a letter reviewed by Reuters.
McNamara took specific issue with the commission’s assertion after the 2020 election that it had been “the most secure in American history” and its subsequent update to voting system guidelines in early 2021.
He questioned the “rapid shift in policy” and asked why the upgrades were not made before the election.
Election experts said new voting system guidelines often take years to implement due to costs and logistics. The commission’s work on the updated guidance started in 2015 and underwent multiple rounds of debate and public feedback, according to commission records.
TRUMP ALLIES EMERGED AS POSSIBLE NOMINEES
As administration officials examined the commission’s work, the White House also started vetting potential nominees for election commissioner posts.
Patrice Johnson, the chair of the Michigan Fair Elections Institute that supports Trump’s election agenda, told Reuters she sent her resume to the White House in late 2025.
Cleta Mitchell, an attorney who worked with Trump’s team to overturn his 2020 loss with claims that the election was rigged, told Reuters she suggested to the White House that Johnson should be a future commissioner.
The White House also considered installing another lawyer who worked to overturn the 2020 election, Kurt Olsen, according to a person familiar with the discussions. Olsen instead joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida in June.
(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Erin Banco; Editing by Colleen Jenkins and Howard Goller)
