Thread by @ericgeller

Scoop: @EACgov commissioners recently voted not to reappoint the agency's controversial executive director Brian Newby: subscriber.politicopro.com/article/2019/0…

D and R members deadlocked 2-2 over whether to give Newby (and GC Cliff Tatum) a second term).

Background: politico.com/story/2019/06/…

As we reported in June, Newby (a Republican) has faced extensive criticism for micromanaging staff, stymying election security work, and being too deferential to EAC Chairwoman Christy McCormick, a former Russian hacking truther.

Background link again: politico.com/story/2019/06/…

When they voted over email, McCormick insisted that the commissioners vote on Newby and Tatum (a Democrat) as a package, per a House aide, so that if they lost a Republican appointee, they'd also lose a Democratic appointee.

Both men's four-year terms expire on October 22.

The recent deadlocked vote is a loss for McCormick, who fought hard to hire Newby in 2015.

At the time, McCormick picked Tatum for GC so that one of the other two commissioners would vote with her and create a quorum to hire both Newby and Tatum.

Here's the kicker: Even after leaving his ED job, Newby might be sticking around the EAC. Per sources, he's floating a succession plan that would give him a new role.

A Democratic commissioner is floating an alternate plan that would name a well-respected staffer as interim ED.

The EAC's executive director manages the agency's career staff and liaises with the politically appointed commissioners. It's an important job at a small agency that state and local election officials trust to help them prepare for cyber threats.

The EAC did not respond to my request for comment on this story. I'm told the commissioners were meeting this morning to discuss a way forward, which could include approving one of the competing succession plans.

Newby's future at the EAC has been the subject of tension between the agency and Democratic lawmakers. McCormick had repeatedly insisted the EAC couldn't start searching for a replacement until Newby's term expired. Sources told me that was a pressure tactic to keep him around.

House Admin chair @RepZoeLofgren said she was pleased "that the EAC has committed to new leadership" following years of "serious personnel mismanagement and occasional hyper-partisanship" at the agency.

But as I said, the next iteration of agency leadership is still unclear.

Forgot to mention that this story about the EAC not reappointing Brian Newby or Cliff Tatum is available on our free site now. politico.com/story/2019/09/…