'Refs walking off the field': Experts fear rampant corruption as watchdog agency shuts down

NOTUS reports The Federal Election Commission (FEC), which enforces campaign finance laws, will lose its power next week when Republican Commissioner Allen Dickerson resigns on April 30. This will leave the six-member FEC without the necessary four-person quorum to legally conduct campaign finance investigations.

Trump removed FEC Chairperson Ellen Weintraub, a Democrat, in February despite objections, and Republican FEC Commissioner Sean Cooksey resigned at the end of January. Trump has yet to nominate a replacement.

Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Calif.), the ranking Democrat on the Senate Committee on Rules and Administration, which vets FEC nominees, said the agency is “losing much of its ability to enforce … rules on transparency and money in politics.”

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“There is no question that President Trump is dead set on using his time in office to advance his personal interests and those of his billionaire backers,” Padilla told NOTUS. “His illegal attempts to subvert the FEC by executive order and fire its chair are all part of that effort.”

Last week, the FEC—which contains both Republicans and Democrats—unanimously dismissed two conservative organizations’ complaint against NPR for allegedly being “controlled” by the Democratic Party. The companies’ accusations parrot the opinions of both administration and Congressional Republicans.

This is not the first time Trump has hobbled the FEC. He also let the agency’s quorum lapse in 2019 and 2020. Then and now, the FEC will not be “legally empowered to fine scofflaws, make new rules, conduct audits, issue advisory guidance, vote on the outcomes of investigations or even conduct formal meetings” until the president nominates one or more new commissioners, NOTUS reports.

“The FEC is supposed to be the nation’s top campaign finance referee. The loss of a quorum at the FEC quorum is more than a bureaucratic hiccup — it’s the refs walking off the field at a moment when robust scrutiny of money in politics is needed more than ever,” Alix Fraser, who is the vice president of advocacy at campaign finance reform organization Issue One, told NOTUS. “Americans deserve a government that keeps corruption in check, not one that turns a blind eye as a torrent of money floods our politics.”

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Read the full NOTUS story at this link.