OAN Staff Abril Elfi
12:16 PM – Wednesday, June 4, 2025
A federal judge has dismissed a lawsuit from the Democratic National Committee (DNC). The plaintiffs argued that the order threatened the independence of the Federal Election Commission (FEC) by potentially allowing President Donald Trump or attorney general to influence the commission’s legal interpretations.
On Tuesday, U.S. District Judge Amir Ali, a Joe Biden appointee, dismissed the case — in a surprising victory for the 47th president.
In his ruling, Ali noted that the DNC failed to demonstrate “concrete and imminent injury” — or the burden needed to justify their request for a preliminary injunction.
The judge went on to say that the concerns raised about the FEC’s independence, as a result of Trump’s executive orders, were far too speculative to satisfy the court’s higher bar for emergency relief.
The case had quoted Trump’s executive order Ensuring Accountability for All Agencies, which was signed on February 18th.
Just 10 days after the executive order was signed, the DNC filed the lawsuit. They claimed that it threatened to intrude on the independence of the FEC, in addition to it threatening the whims of the executive branch.
The lawsuit primarily focused on the assertion that the FEC is an independent regulatory agency, adding that the credibility of the entire regulatory enterprise would be “fatally undermined if the party controlling the White House can unilaterally structure campaign rules and adjudicate disputes to disadvantage its electoral competitors.”
Ali maintained on Tuesday that he had found no evidence to date that the White House or the Trump administration had taken attempts to change or weaken how the FEC interprets federal election law, or to target its independence.
“The possibility that the president and attorney general would take the extraordinary step of issuing a directive to the FEC or its Commissioners purporting to bind their interpretation of FECA is not sufficiently concrete and imminent to create Article III injury,” Ali said.
However, Ali noted that if circumstances were to change, the DNC would have the opportunity to file an amended complaint requesting the court to reevaluate the matter.
“This Court’s doors are open to the parties if changed circumstances show concrete action or impact on the FEC’s or its Commissioners’ independence,” Ali said.
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