Rep. Ken Buck calls on President Trump to fill vacancies on election commission in bipartisan fashion
Rep. Ken Buck joined Washington Democrat Derek Kilmer on Wednesday in calling on President Donald Trump to fully staff the Federal Election Commission.
"The FEC plays a vital role in enforcing the rule of law for election campaigns," Buck, a Republican from Windsor, said in a news release. "We want political candidates to follow the rules, but without a functional FEC, the rulebook isn't even clear. I encourage the president to stick with precedent and nominate both a Democrat and a Republican to fill FEC vacancies at the same time."
The FEC is the independent watchdog responsible for administering and enforcing the nation's campaign finance laws. Fully staffed, it is run by six bipartisan commissioners. Today, because of resignations and attrition, the FEC is in danger of having less than the minimum number of four commissioners required to conduct business, the release stated.
New commissioners are appointed by the president. By law, the commission's six leaders are split evenly between the Republican and Democratic parties. Traditionally presidents have filled vacancies by appointing a pair of commissioners, one from each party, at the same time.
A dozen other lawmakers joined Buck and Kilmer in calling on the president to fill the vacancies in a bipartisan manner, the release stated.
By: Nate Miller
Source: Greeley Tribune