On behalf of the following former Republican Members of Congress, Protect Democracy submitted to the Western District of Washington an amicus brief highlighting various problems with the president’s attempt to direct the Election Assistance Commission (EAC) to adopt his partisan priorities and influence how we administer our elections: 

• Senator Chuck Hagel (R-NE)
• Representative James Greenwood (R-PA)
• Representative Christopher Shays (R-CT)

These former Members participated in the enactment of the Help America Vote Act of 2002, the federal law that established the EAC as an independent, bipartisan, expert-driven agency with a mandate to support state and local governments in election administration. They explain why President Trump’s March 2025 executive order on elections subverts the entire statutory scheme adopted by Congress, not to mention constitutional text, structure, and practice. As the brief explains: 

“Congress passed HAVA and created the EAC in the aftermath of the November 2000 election. Through extensive hearings, Congress learned that state and local election officials were in desperate need of additional funding and expertise to address critical problems with election technologies and infrastructure, and a trusted, objective source of resources and information for election administration. As Members of Congress at the time, amici participated in the creation of the EAC to provide this critical assistance to state and local governments while respecting the federal government’s limited role in U.S. elections. Amici also know firsthand that Congress created the EAC to serve as an independent, bipartisan, expert-driven commission removed from partisan influence. The Executive Order ignores the clear commands of Congress and settled constitutional principles dating back to the Founding—while opening the door to further presidential abuses of power.”