The Democratic Party filed a lawsuit against President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi on Friday, arguing that Trump’s assertion of control over independent executive-branch agencies violates federal election law. The lawsuit targets an executive order that seeks to exert presidential authority over agencies such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Election Commission.
The order states that federal agencies cannot interpret the law differently than the president or attorney general. Democrats argue this effectively places oversight of the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, which regulates federal campaigns, under direct presidential control.
The lawsuit contends that the order undermines Congress’s authority, violating federal election law. “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 filing states.
Democrats have consistently pushed back against Republican-led efforts to reshape election oversight. One of the first actions by Ken Martin, the new chairman of the Democratic National Committee, was to join a lawsuit challenging Republican-backed election rules in Georgia.
The lawsuit, filed jointly by the three national Democratic committees in federal court in Washington, D.C., marks the first time the party has sued Trump in his second term.
