Washington — A federal appeals court in Washington, D.C. has paved the way for President Trump to dismiss members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board, reversing earlier district court rulings that had blocked such dismissals and mandated their reinstatement.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled 2-1 to suspend the lower court orders that invalidated Trump’s dismissals of Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board, while legal proceedings continue.
Wilcox and Harris contended that their terminations were unlawful under federal statutes that allowed for removals only in cases of neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. The Trump administration defended these dismissals, arguing that the restrictions on the president’s authority to remove officials were unconstitutional.
“The American people chose the president to uphold the nation’s laws, and a stay upholds that by enabling the elected official to manage the executive branch,” Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, stated in his opinion favoring the administration.
This story is ongoing and will be updated as new information becomes available.
