Editors' Picks

The FEC Enforces Campaign Finance Laws, And It’s Effectively Shutting Down

The Republican vice-chair of the Federal Election Commission has resigned, which means that there aren’t enough commissioners for the FEC to operate and enforce campaign finance laws as we head into the 2020 election.

After the resignation of Republican vice-chairman Matthew S. Petersen 0n Monday, the FEC doesn’t have enough commissioners to hold a quorum and conduct business. The commission is supposed to have six members, three Republicans and three Democrats, but there are currently only three.

Part of the problem is Trump, who broke with tradition by only nominating a Republican commissioner. Normally, presidents have nominated a Republican and a Democrat. Trump tried to rig the FEC. The Senate won’t give his nominee a hearing, and now, the country is stuck with a commission that can’t actually enforce penalties for campaign finance violations.

This means that while the FEC will still be able to shine a light on the funding of our elections, they will not be able to be back up to full speed until probably after the 2020 election. At a time when the country needs stronger campaign finance laws, Trump has set up a situation where candidates could theoretically cheat all they want with little or no consequence potentially for years down the road for their violations of the law.

Dark money has lost before and it can lose again if the will of a determined majority is stronger than the almighty dollar.

For more discussion about this story join our Rachel Maddow and MSNBC group.

Follow Jason Easley on Facebook

Follow Me
Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements. Awards and  Professional Memberships Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association

Recent Posts

Jimmy Carter Outlived One Of His Obituary Writers

Jimmy Carter was not only the longest living ex-president in history, but he lived so…

2 months ago

Barack And Michelle Obama Perfectly Pay Tribute To Jimmy Carter

Former President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama honored Jimmy Carter in the most…

2 months ago

Trump And House GOP’s Promise To Not Cut Social Security Is Total Nonsense

Trump got House Republicans to not use reconciliation to cut Social Security. The problem is…

2 months ago

Trump And Mike Johnson Agree To Apparently Cut Americans’ Healthcare To Pay For Tax Cuts For The Rich

President-elect Trump and Speaker Mike Johnson have agreed to a deal that would fund the…

2 months ago

Dozens Of Republicans Humiliate Trump/Musk By Voting Down CR

Donald Trump demanded that the debt limit be raised as part of the government funding…

2 months ago

Trump And Vance Blame Biden For Elon Musk Caused Chaos

Donald Trump and JD Vance are blaming President Biden for the havoc caused by Elon…

2 months ago