D.C. Appeals Court Reverses Trump Firing 2 Independent Federal Board Members
A divided D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals Monday reinstated two members of independent federal agencies who were wrongfully dismissed by President Donald Trump as part of his effort to hollow out the government.
The D.C. Appeals Court’s 7-4 vote reverses a separate court decision that upheld Trump’s dismissal of National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris.
Wilcox’s and Harris’ lawsuits challenging their dismissals may next go before the Supreme Court, which may reconsider Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., a 90-year-old ruling that serves as the backbone of agencies’ authority to operate without direct control from the White House.
The court Monday ruled that Trump dismissing Wilcox and Harris went against the Supreme Court’s ruling in Humphrey’s Executor, which protects officials on multimember federal boards and commissions from being arbitrarily fired by the president.
“The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it,” the panel ruled.
Three of the appeals judges who voted to uphold Wilcox’s and Harris’ dismissals were appointed by Trump.
The Trump administration fired Wilcox and Harris without cause despite federal laws specifying that NLRB and MSPB members can only be removed by presidents for specific causes, like malfeasance. Lower-court judges found that both dismissals violated federal law.
Trump has dismissed several other officials on independent bodies as part of his efforts to increase the president’s removal power, snuff out independence within the executive branch and gain complete control over executive branch personnel.
Trump’s Department of Justice said it believes congressional limitations on the president’s removal power are unconstitutional and that it will urge the Supreme Court to overturn Humphrey’s Executor.
If the Supreme Court ultimately grants Trump the ability to fire members of independent bodies, he could gain extraordinary powers to investigate and penalize private businesses and individuals, tilt elections and use monetary policy for political purposes.