The embattled executive director of the Election Assistance Commission, whose tenure has been marked by internal turmoil, will not serve another term, two people told POLITICO.
EAC commissioners voted over the weekend of Sept. 7-8 not to reappoint Brian Newby for four more years, according to an agency staffer and a House aide, who declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the issue. The commissioners also voted not to retain Cliff Tatum, the agency’s general counsel. Both men joined the EAC on Oct. 22, 2015.
The vote on the two appointments was 2-2, splitting the Democratic and Republican commissioners, said the House aide. A decision to reappoint them would have required a majority.
The vote came three months after a POLITICO story about how Newby has faced extensive criticism from inside and outside the EAC for undermining its election security work and ignoring, micromanaging and mistreating staff.