A powerful House Democrat is telling the chairman of the Federal Election Commission to stop commenting on federal election law. In a letter sent to the commission on Tuesday, the lawmaker is warning that such comments “will fuel uncertainty and mistrust in our campaign finance system specifically and our democracy generally.”

Congressman Joseph Morelle, a New York Democrat who serves as the top minority member on the House Administration Committee, says FEC chairman Sean Cooksey should refrain from raising concerns about campaign finance law with respect to Vice President Harris and her ability to access funds from what was previously known as the Biden–Harris campaign. 

Mr. Cooksey on Sunday hinted on X that Ms. Harris may not be eligible to use the nearly $100 million war chest that she and President Biden raised as part of their campaign. Mr. Cooksey — who was appointed to the commission by President Trump in 2020 — cited Title 11 of the Code of Federal Regulations, which states: “If the candidate is not a candidate in the general election, all contributions made for the general election shall be either returned or refunded to the contributors or redesignated …, or reattributed …, as appropriate.”

After the chairman posted that excerpt, he was interviewed by National Public Radio about the possibility that Ms. Harris is illegally accessing funds. “I think it’s really complicated, is the short answer,” Mr. Cooksey said. “This is really unprecedented in terms of modern political history, and certainly in terms of campaign finance law. We have a presidential nominee or a presumptive nominee dropping out just weeks before his party convention.”

“What he’s attempting to do is to give his entire committee — the cash and all the assets — over to another person,” he continued.

“I think I expect there’s going to be probably challenges to that at the agency and probably in the courts,” he added. “I think everyone would agree, though, that this is completely unprecedented, and it raises a lot of novel questions.”

On Monday night, Mr. Cooksey reiterated his concerns during an interview with Fox News. “That candidate first needs to give back all of their general election money,” Mr. Cooksey said. “What the Democrats are going to do is … take the money and run, give it to the Harris campaign, not bother to get any FEC guidance, and just deal with any consequences [of] that after the election.”

Mr. Morelle was clearly incensed by those comments, writing a two-page letter to Mr. Cooksey and the other FEC commissioners on Tuesday, asking that he retract his statements in order to clarify that Ms. Harris does, in fact, have access to those funds. 

“On July 21, 2024, in light of President Biden’s patriotic decision to prioritize the wellbeing of the nation over his own political ambition, you posted on X a context-less quote,” Mr. Morelle writes. “A reasonable observer could interpret the post — for which you provided no explanation or analysis — as to imply that Vice President Harris may not be entitled to the finances from a campaign for which she has been a named candidate for almost four years.”

Mr. Morelle added that Mr. Cooksey’s comments are “unnecessary given the clarity of the law and will, if done for purely partisan purposes, increase the acrimony and division in our political system.”

By “failing to provide important information” about campaign finance law, Mr. Cooksey is fueling “uncertainty and mistrust” in the political system, Mr. Morelle argues.

The letter was sent to all FEC commissioners, including the vice chairwoman, Ellen Weintraub. Ms. Weintraub, in her own interview with NPR, said Ms. Harris clearly has access to the campaign funds because it is “the same committee” for all intents and purposes. 

Mr. Morelle listed others who disagree with Mr. Cooksey’s analysis. “Hans von Spakovksy, a Republican member of the Commission who has testified as a campaign finance expert in front of the Committee on House Administration three times this Congress, has affirmed that Vice President Harris has access to the campaign’s finances,” Mr. Morelle writes. “Dara Lindembaum, your predecessor as Chair of the Commission, agrees with Commissioner von Spakovsky’s assessment.”

Mr. Morelle is asking Mr. Cooksey to “clarify” his X post and to “refrain from making unexplained statements in the future.”

“Failing to provide this vital context — while disseminating manufactured uncertainty under an imprimatur of authority based on your position on the Commission — is irresponsible at best,” Mr. Morelle says.