The Democratic National Committee filed a lawsuit against President Trump on Friday, stating that an executive order signed by the president earlier this month violates federal election law.
The lawsuit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, D.C., is the first time the Democratic Party has sued Mr. Trump in his second term. It comes as the party is embroiled in an internal debate over its strategy for opposing Mr. Trump’s overhaul of the federal government.
The lawsuit takes aim at an executive order that sought exert control over independent agencies, such as the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Election Commission.
The order stated that those agencies cannot interpret the law differently than the president or attorney general. That assertion effectively brings oversight of the bipartisan Federal Election Commission, which regulates campaigns for federal office, under direct control of the president, Democrats argue.
“The executive order purports to provide President Trump — the leader of the Republican Party — with the ability to order the F.E.C. to take particular positions on any question of law arising in the commission’s performance of any of its duties,” the Democrats’ lawsuit states.
The filing also argues that the executive order violates federal election law, undermining Congress. “The assertion is incompatible with nearly a century’s worth of Supreme Court precedent blessing Congress’s authority to insulate certain agencies and officials from day-to-day control by the president,” the lawsuit says.
Democrats have continually argued against what they say are Republicans’ unfair and undemocratic attempts to influence the electoral process. One of the first moves Ken Martin, the new chairman of the D.N.C., made was to join a lawsuit contesting new, Republican-backed election rules in Georgia.
The White House and the office of Attorney General Pam Bondi, who is also named in the lawsuit, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
For years, the Federal Election Commission has been criticized as ineffective or toothless, at times even lacking the number of members to meet and often paralyzed by deadlock, with both parties taking advantage of the dysfunction.
In the lawsuit, Democrats cite multiple current complaints being heard by the commission, including “a meritless complaint” against the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee stating that the committee “improperly classified” four ads during the 2024 cycle. The complaint is cited as a cause for potential harm if the commission is restructured under the new executive order.
“Americans are legally guaranteed fair elections with impartial referees — not a system where Donald Trump can dictate campaign rules he wants from the White House,” Mr. Martin said in a statement that was also signed by the chairs of the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee.
