Federal Election Commission vice chair announces resignation, leaving the agency powerless

A highly contested presidential race is when the U.S. would need an election watchdog the most.

Yet the Federal Election Commission — the agency tasked with overseeing and regulating campaign finance in federal elections — is about to be rendered essentially powerless. That's because Vice Chair Matt Petersen submitted his resignation on Monday, leaving it without the four-person quota needed to vote, conduct investigations, and impose fines, among other things, The Center for Public Integrity reports.

The Washington Examiner first got ahold of Petersen's resignation letter to President Trump, in which he says he'll be leaving the FEC at the end of the month. The Republican's departure leaves a Democrat, and Independent, and another Republican left on the board. Only three people from a single political party can serve as FEC chairs at a time.

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The reduction of the FEC's power to essentially zero has been a long time coming, with the six-person commission running with just four members since early 2018. Commission chairs are usually nominated in pairs from opposing parties, but Trump only nominated Republican and bonafide Trump backer Trey Trainor back in late 2017. That means come September, the FEC will be left without most of its powers for the first time since 2008 — right as the heated 2020 election cycle really heats up.

Read more about the FEC's lost responsibilities at The Center for Public Integrity.