The Democratic Party sued President Trump on Friday, contending that his assertion of control over independent executive-branch agencies, which include the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, violated federal election law.
The lawsuit, which was jointly filed by the three national Democratic committees in federal court in Washington, D.C., is the first time the party has sued Mr. Trump in his second term. It comes as Democrats are embroiled in an internal debate over their strategy for opposing Mr. Trump’s overhaul of the federal government.
The order stated that federal agencies cannot interpret the law differently than the president or attorney general. That assertion effectively brings oversight of the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaigns for federal office, under direct control of the president, Democrats argue.
“The executive order purports to provide President Trump — the leader of the Republican Party — with the ability to order the F.E.C. to take particular positions on any question of law arising in the commission’s performance of any of its duties,” the Democrats’ lawsuit states.
The filing also argues that the executive order violates federal election law, undermining Congress. “The assertion is incompatible with nearly a century’s worth of Supreme Court precedent blessing Congress’s authority to insulate certain agencies and officials from day-to-day control by the president,” the lawsuit says.
Democrats have continually argued against what they say are Republicans’ unfair and undemocratic attempts to influence the electoral process. One of the first moves Ken Martin, the new chairman of the D.N.C., made was to join a lawsuit contesting new, Republican-backed election rules in Georgia.
The White House and the office of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is also named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For years, the Federal Election Commission has been criticized as ineffective or toothless, at times even lacking the number of members to meet and often paralyzed by deadlock, with both parties taking advantage of the dysfunction.
In the lawsuit, Democrats cite multiple current complaints being heard by the commission, including “a meritless complaint” against the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee stating that the committee “improperly classified” four ads during the 2024 cycle. The complaint is cited as a cause for potential harm if the commission is restructured under the new executive order.
“Americans are legally guaranteed fair elections with impartial referees — not a system where Donald Trump can dictate campaign rules he wants from the White House,” Mr. Martin said in a statement that was also signed by the chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
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