Ellen Weintraub

Former Chair, Federal Election Commission

“The only response is to stand together.”

On January 31st, Ellen L. Weintraub received a letter firing her from her role as a commissioner on the campaign finance watchdog Federal Election Commission “effective immediately” – based on a Trump executive order. The move was widely seen as an effort by Trump to erase the FEC’s independence and balance, since Weintraub was one of the three Democrats on the nonpartisan six-member FEC commission. She was immediately cut off from email, databases, and government facilities.

She immediately rebutted Trump’s action, calling it illegitimate, based on a 1993 court ruling that the president can “likely” fire a commissioner only “for good cause,” per her lawyers. “There’s a legal way to replace FEC commissioners – this isn’t it,” Weintraub posted on social media.

She then filed an amicus brief in a case challenging Trump’s executive order to take control of the FEC (though not directly related to her own status), stating, “My top priority now (and filing this amicus brief is part of it) is to continue to raise my voice about threats to our democratic system and constitutional order. Turns out one doesn’t need a dot.gov email address to do that.”

As an independent agency, the FEC is responsible for enforcing campaign finance laws in presidential and congressional elections. Its members are named by the president and confirmed by the Senate for six-year terms, with two seats subject to a new appointment every two years. Members continue to serve until they are replaced. Weintraub had been in the role since 2002, first appointed by GOP president George W. Bush. Her term ended in 2007, but she remained in place and was named Chair in 2025. Another panel member resigned in January, bringing the panel down to four members.

Eleven Democratic Senators agreed that the firing was illegal, including Amy Klobuchar, Alex Padilla and Elizabeth Warren – along with former FEC chair Trevor Potter, a Republican. As of June, Weintraub had not filed a further legal challenge in federal court and it was unclear if she was attempting to reinstate her position via other means.

Some critics view Weintraub’s dismissal as a revenge move by Trump, because she took a past public position against his actions in 2023. She also publicly urged Trump to “concede the election you have lost” during the January 6, 2021, insurrection and also criticized her Republican colleagues on the panel for never approving FEC general counsel recommendations in 2023 that went against Trump. Others view it as part of the Trump administration’s goal of gaining greater control for Republicans over election issues with an eye on next year’s mid-term elections. 

Instead of being silenced, Weintraub continues to speak out against the ongoing dismissals of nonpartisan federal workers by Trump’s team, urging federal and private sector leaders not to capitulate to pressure and threats. “I was fired in a way that was designed to intimidate other people at my agency and other people at other agencies, and I think the only response to that is to stand together,” she told Fortune in late May.

“A lot of people feel like they are under attack, and I think people will look back at this moment – your clients, your customers – and look for brave stances,” she said. “There’s strength in numbers.”