FEC Democrat to depart, giving Trump a chance to add a conservative: Report

[Right_in_Virginia]

FEC Democrat to depart, giving Trump a chance to add a conservative: Report
Washington Examiner, Feb 19, 2017, Jacqueline Klimas


A Democrat is resigning from the Federal Election Commission this week, giving President Trump a chance to add another conservative to the panel.
 
In a letter of resignation dated on Sunday, Ann Ravel said that her resignation will be effective March 1. She said many of the issues raised by Trump during the campaign — that the political system is "broken," that weathy donors can command so much influence and that some super PACs are not truly independent of the candidates — are concerns shared by the vast majority of the American people.
 
She also urged Trump to focus on campaign finance reform to fix these issues.

***


Ravel had told the New York Times that she will send the president her letter of resignation this week after a series of 3-3 votes between the three Democrats and Republicans on the panel. This gridlock on the panel convinced her that the panel would not be able to make any meaningful progress on campaign finance reform and that she'd be "more effective on the outside."
 
Her departure comes two months shy of the end of her term.


A new commissioner to replace Ravel would traditionally be picked by Senate Democrats, but legally can be tapped by the president. It's unclear who will make the final decision and whether Trump will side with the law of with D.C. tradition, according to the report.
 
Still, Trump cannot name a registered Republican to the panel, since it can not have more than three members from either political party.


http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/fec-democrat-ann-ravel-to-resign/article/2615274

[Right_in_Virginia]

Do I understand this:  Trump can legally "tap" someone registered in the Conservative Party, Libertarian Party, Tea Party or a registered Independent?

[EC]

Do I understand this:  Trump can legally "tap" someone registered in the Conservative Party, Libertarian Party, Tea Party or a registered Independent?

From the FEC's own site:

In 1975, Congress created the Federal Election Commission (FEC) to administer and enforce the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) - the statute that governs the financing of federal elections. The duties of the FEC, which is an independent regulatory agency, are to disclose campaign finance information, to enforce the provisions of the law such as the limits and prohibitions on contributions, and to oversee the public funding of Presidential elections.

The Commission is made up of six members, who are  appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. Each member serves a six-year term, and two seats are subject to appointment every two years. By law, no more than three Commissioners can be members of the same political party, and at least four votes are required for any official Commission action. This structure was created to encourage nonpartisan decisions. The Chairmanship of the Commission rotates among the members each year, with no member serving as Chairman more than once during his or her term.

That's the only limit I can see. The assumption of course, was that it'd be 3 and 3, since there weren't really any credible third parties when it was formed.

Whoever he taps will still have to get through the Senate.

[geronl]

Trump won't appoint a conservative, he'll probably appoint someone who thinks like he does.