President Trump Nominates Two Republicans to Federal Election Commission
By: Matthew Petersen, Andrew D. Watkins, Rebekah Marino, Austin Graham, and Michael Bayes
On February 11, President Trump announced two nominations to the Federal Election Commission, Republicans Ashley Stow and Andrew Woodson. If confirmed, Stow and Woodson would join current Democrat Commissioners Shana Broussard and Dara Lindenbaum and restore a four-member quorum to the agency. The agency has been without a quorum, and unable to conduct most business, since April 2025.
Ashley Stow is a long time Republican counsel at the FEC who previously worked for Commissioners James E. “Trey” Trainor and Donald F. McGahn. Andrew Woodson served as counsel to Commissioner Lee Goodman. Both are well known members of the Washington, DC campaign finance and election law bar.
The FEC lost all three of its Republican Commissioners during 2025. Commissioner Sean Cooksey exited the agency in January 2025, followed by Allen Dickerson in April, and finally, Trey Trainor in October.
FEC nominees typically appear before the Senate Rules Committee for a confirmation hearing before being voted on by the full Senate. No hearing has yet been scheduled.
