FEC commissioner’s departure sets up test of how Trump will approach money in politics

Ann Ravel, one of the three Democratic appointees on the deeply divided Federal Election Commission, announced that she will leave her post March 1, setting up one of the first tests of how President Trump will approach campaign finance regulation. The opening at the FEC provides Trump with an opportunity to demonstrate the tack he plans to take toward the growing reach of the wealthy in politics. There was a surge of massive donations by the super-rich in the 2016 presidential race, with just 10 mega-donor individuals and couples contributing nearly 20 percent of the $1.1 billion raised by super PACs by the end of August, according to a Washington Post analysis. Trump made denouncing big donors a centerpiece of his presidential bid, lambasting the role of super PACs and promising to “drain the swamp.”