With Two of Six Seats Filled, the Federal Election Commission Is Sitting Out the Midterms
The campaign finance watchdog has not been able to open investigations, issue fines or give legal guidance since May 2025, as ad spending heads for a record $11.6 billion.
By Watchman Report staff ·
The Federal Election Commission, which enforces federal campaign finance law, is sitting out the 2026 midterm elections because it lacks a quorum, The Washington Post reported Saturday. Only two of its six seats are filled, and four commissioners are needed to act. Without a quorum, the agency can't open investigations, issue fines, write rules or give candidates formal legal guidance, CBS News reported earlier this month. It has not been able to do any of these since May 2025.
Staff can still collect and publish campaign finance reports, answer questions and accept complaints. But the commission has not resolved a single enforcement case or approved any new civil penalties since then, and its backlog has doubled in a year, from 154 to 307 cases, CBS reported. Trump nominated two Republicans in February, but the Senate has not held a hearing on either. Both remaining commissioners are Democrats, the first time since the FEC was created after Watergate that one party has had no members.
The standstill comes as political ad spending is projected to reach a record $11.6 billion this cycle, according to AdImpact. Campaigns of both parties are still filing complaints against each other that the FEC cannot act on. "So everyone knows you can do whatever you want this time around," said Craig Holman of Public Citizen. Paul Kamenar of the conservative National Legal and Policy Center called it "very disconcerting" that the agency can't enforce the law.
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