Supreme Court lets Donald Trump fire independent board members – for now
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday granted President Donald Trump's request to keep Democratic members off of two federal labor boards while their lawsuits continue, in a case that Trump's hopes will bring various parts of the federal government under his control.
The move comes after an appeals court on Monday blocked the president from removing Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board and Democratic member Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board until their lawsuits challenging Trump's firing of them are resolved. The Supreme Court reversed that action Wednesday, in line with what Trump requested earlier in the day.
"The President should not be forced to delegate his executive power to agency heads who are demonstrably at odds with the Administration’s policy objectives for a single day – much less for the months that it would likely take for the courts to resolve this litigation," Trump said in his application to the nation's highest court.
Chief Justice John Roberts, who signed the one-page Wednesday decision, didn't explain his reasons. But Supreme Court guidance on such orders suggests Roberts believes there is a "fair prospect" that a majority of the court will ultimately side with Trump.
Roberts ordered Harris and Wilcox to respond by Tuesday to Trump's application. Trump has asked the high court to "promptly settle" the underlying dispute.
The National Labor Relations Board is an independent federal agency that settles disputes between private sector unions and employers. When filled, it has five members that are each appointed by the president, with the Senate's consent, to five-year terms. One member's term expires each year.
The Merit Systems Protection Board, another independent federal agency, is often the first stop for federal workers to allege illegal employment practices – bringing the board under special scrutiny as the Trump administration attempts to slash the federal workforce.
A fight over the president's power
Wilcox and Harris are just two of seven independent agency board members Trump has fired. The women argue Trump is violating laws that protect them from being fired unless they have demonstrated “inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.”
Trump said in his Wednesday filing that court decisions blocking him from pushing out Wilcox and Harris are limiting his power to create change. If he can oust Harris, the Merit Systems Protection Board would have one Republican member and two vacancies. With Wilcox gone, Trump could reduce the National Labor Relations Board to one Democrat and one Republican, along with three vacancies.
"Compelling the President to work with an executive agency that is deadlocked or controlled by the opposing political party – especially during the critical early months of his administration – irreparably impairs his ability to implement his agenda," according to Trump's filing.
Testing a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision
In the request, Trump asked the high court to rule that lower courts are interpreting a 1935 Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey's Executor too broadly. The case has long stood for the idea that presidents can't fire members of independent agency boards at will.
However, Trump argued Wednesday the case only applies to agencies that don't "wield substantial executive power." He said the two boards at issue do wield that kind of power by implementing and enforcing worker protections.
Trump added that, if the Supreme Court disagrees with his narrow interpretation of Humphrey's Executor, it should simply overturn that 1935 decision.
Five of the sitting conservative justices decided in 2020 to do away with similar job protections for the single executives who run independent agencies. A sixth conservative justice, Amy Coney Barrett, has since joined the court.
A win for the Trump administration could affect independent agencies with boards that oversee issues related to product safety, the economy, campaign finance, and public airwaves, among other things.
(This story has been updated with additional information.)