Representative Greg Steube (R-FL) has introduced legislation to dismantle the Presidential Election Campaign Fund (PECF), which he called "a relic of the past."
The PECF was established in the 1970s and is drawn from $3 donations made by tax filers. As the Tax Policy Center noted, the number of taxpayers choosing to contribute $3 to presidential campaign funds has continually declined since the fund's establishment, with just 3% of filers in 2023 putting money into the PECF.
As a result, Rep. Steube's Eliminating Leftover Expenses for Campaigns from Taxpayers (ELECT) Act of 2025 permanently shuts down the PECF. It redirects any remaining funds to the Treasury to reduce the national deficit.
"For decades, American taxpayers have been forced to subsidize presidential campaigns, even those they fundamentally oppose," said Rep. Steube in his press release, adding, "This fund is a relic of the past, riddled with abuse and irrelevant in today's campaign financing landscape. It's long past time we ended this unnecessary waste of taxpayer dollars and put the money toward reducing our nation's ballooning deficit."
Senator Joni Ernst (R-IA), who originally introduced the bill in the Senate, said, "The last thing we need to use tax dollars for is to line the pockets of political consultants."
"There is no better way to pay down the $36 trillion debt than by defunding welfare for political campaigns. Washington should be working to benefit all Americans instead of itself," Sen. Ernst added.
At the end of March, President Donald Trump issued Executive Order 14248, "Preserving and Protecting the Integrity of American Elections." The order includes measures such as the Election Assistance Commission requiring more rigorous proof of citizenship in voter registration forms, chiefly government-issued IDs. Similarly, the State and Homeland Security Departments and Social Security must allow states to access Federal databases to verify the eligibility of people registering to vote.
Representative Abe Hamadeh (R-AZ) introduced legislation at the beginning of April to codify the order into law.
