Federal Election Commission; independent agency enforcing federal campaign finance law
Background
The Federal Election Commission is an independent regulatory agency created by Congress after the Watergate scandal to enforce federal campaign finance law. It’s led by six commissioners appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate. No more than three can be from any one political party and it takes four votes for any enforcement action, a structure Congress designed explicitly to keep the agency bipartisan and insulate it from presidential control. The FEC is unusual among federal agencies in that its enforcement role extends to the president as a candidate and officeholder, and it has been asked repeatedly to weigh in on complaints involving Donald Trump’s campaigns. In February 2025, Trump attempted to remove Democratic Commissioner Ellen Weintraub outside the legally prescribed process, and Executive Order 14215 purported to subject the FEC to legal interpretations issued by the president and the Attorney General, prompting a lawsuit by the Democratic National Committee and allied party committees.