Federal Judge Says Trump Illegally Fired Chair of Federal Workers Protections Board
A federal judge ruled that President Donald Trump violated federal law and exceeded his authority by firing the chair of a board that protects the rights of federal employees without reason.
U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ordered Cathy Harris to be reinstated and for Trump officials to recognize her as the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), giving a win to civil servants who believe they have been unfairly terminated in Trump and billionaire Elon Musk’s mass firings across the federal government.
By not stating a cause for her dismissal, Contreras said Tuesday Trump specifically violated the 1978 Civil Service Reform Act (CSRA), which states that MSPB board members can be removed by the president “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
“Because the President did not indicate that he sought to remove Harris for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office, his attempt to terminate her was unlawful and exceeded the scope of his authority,” the judge wrote.
Contreras further defended the MSPB’s independence, stating that Congress had specifically created the MSPB to operate without direct control from the White House. Upholding Harris’s termination would “neuter” the CSRA, allowing “high-ranking government officials to engage in prohibited practices and then pressure the MSPB into inaction.”
The government appealed the case to the D.C. Court of Appeals shortly after Contreras issued his order.
Monday’s order follows a ruling over the weekend that found that Trump also exceeded his authority by firing the head of the Office of Special Counsel, a key federal whistleblower agency.
In both cases, the judges cited Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 1935 Supreme Court case that prevented presidents from dismissing members of independent regulatory bodies, like the MSPB.