FEC Board In Stalemate

The top Democratic nominee for the Federal Election Commission has withdrawn his name from consideration, deepening the nomination meltdown that has effectively shut down the commission during a critical election year.

Former FEC Chairman Robert Lenhard, the Democratic nominee, dropped out because Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) couldn't guarantee timely confirmation by the Senate, according to a letter Reid sent to the White House.

"This development now makes a resolution of this conflict more difficult because I have lost an exceptional leader for the FEC," Reid wrote.

Due to a nominations standoff between Reid and the White House, the FEC has been rendered completely dysfunctional and unable to make major decisions on campaign finance and other key election issues.

Now, with Lenhard dropping out, the Democrats have no nominee for the commission. And Reid says the standoff "has derived the agency of a functional quorum" and "taken the nation's campaign finance watchdog off the beat."

Michael H. Drucker
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