Washington, DC – The Institute for Free Speech released the following statement in response to today’s vote by the Senate to confirm Texas attorney Trey Trainor to the Federal Election Commission. The confirmation restores the agency’s quorum and its partisan balance.

“Trey Trainor is a well-qualified and welcome addition to the Commission. The FEC can now, hopefully, defend its actions in court and provide guidance to speakers on how to comply with the law. That is critical at any time, but it is even more important in an election year,” said Institute for Free Speech Chairman and former Federal Election Commission Chair Bradley A. Smith.

“Unfortunately, with just four commissioners, any one member can still prevent the Commission from acting. That’s why it is important that the President nominate, and the Senate promptly confirm, new commissioners until all six seats are filled,” said Smith.

Trainor was originally nominated to the FEC in 2017, but the Senate did not act at that time. On February 27, 2020, President Trump re-nominated Trainor to the Commission. The six-member FEC lacked a quorum since September 1, 2019.

The FEC’s three other commissioners have all served for years past their original terms. The Institute for Free Speech supports replacing the holdover commissioners and filling the two remaining vacancies at the FEC.

About the Institute for Free Speech

The Institute for Free Speech is a nonpartisan, nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization that promotes and defends the First Amendment rights to freely speak, assemble, publish, and petition the government. Originally known as the Center for Competitive Politics, it was founded in 2005 by Bradley A. Smith, a former Chairman of the Federal Election Commission. The Institute is the nation’s largest organization dedicated solely to protecting First Amendment political rights.