President Trump fired Federal Election Fee Chairwoman Ellen Weintraub on Thursday in a transfer the Democratic official claims is illegitimate.
Weintraub, who has served as an FEC commissioner since 2002, shared the termination letter she obtained from the president on X and signaled that she received’t be leaving her publish quietly.
“Received a letter from POTUS today purporting to remove me as Commissioner & Chair of [FEC],” Weintraub wrote on the social media platform. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners-this isn’t it.”
“I’ve been lucky to serve the American people & stir up some good trouble along the way,” she added. “That’s not changing anytime soon.”
The succinct letter that Weintraub included in her publish was dated Jan. 31 and included the 78-year-old president’s distinctive signature.
“You are hereby removed as a Member of the Federal Election Commission, effective immediately,” Trump wrote. “Thank you for your service on the commission.”
The White Home didn’t instantly reply to The Publish’s request for remark.
The FEC, which has six commissioners, is an unbiased regulatory company tasked with imposing marketing campaign finance legal guidelines and overseeing the nation’s federal elections.
Not more than three commissioners could also be affiliated with the identical political occasion and commissioners serve six-year phrases upon being confirmed by the Senate.
Weintraub’s time period expired in 2007 however she remained on the fee “in holdover status” for over twenty years as a alternative for her was by no means appointed.
Weintraub has been essential of Trump’s claims of widespread voter fraud in federal elections.
“I think it is damaging to our democracy to spread information like that if there is no proof,” she informed CNN in a 2019 interview, in response to Fox Information, describing Trump’s allegations as “baseless.”
Then, in a prolonged X thread, Weintraub argued that Trump’s “falsehoods” about widespread mail-in voting fraud “are not mere words.”
“These falsehoods may well undermine the American people’s faith in our democracy,” she wrote in a Could 2020 thread.
The axed FEC official informed the New York Instances Thursday that she was “not really surprised” by Trump’s letter.
“There have been dozens of complaints filed against the president,” Weintraub informed the outlet.
“I have pointed that out. I’ve written about this. So I’m not really surprised that I am on their radar,” she added.
