Supreme Court allows Trump맥스카지노s firings of independent agency board members to take effect, for now
The Supreme Court on Wednesday allowed the Trump administration to oust two board members who oversee independent agencies, for now. The action seems to signal the court's support for President Donald Trump's effort to remove limits on executive power.
Video above: Labor unions, groups sue Trump administration over federal worker threat
Chief Justice John Roberts signed an order pausing a ruling from the federal appeals court in Washington that had temporarily restored the two women to their jobs. They were separately fired from agencies that deal with labor issues, including one with a key role for federal workers as Trump aims to drastically downsize the workforce.
Roberts handles emergency appeals from the nation's capital. He called for the two board members, Gwynne Wilcox of the National Labor Relations Board and Cathy Harris of the Merit Systems Protection Board, to weigh in by early next week.
It's not clear why Roberts would have paused the appellate ruling unless he and his colleagues believe it was likely wrong.
The immediate issue confronting the justices is whether the board members, both initially appointed by Democratic President Joe Biden, can stay in their jobs while the larger fight continues over what to do with a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey맥스카지노s Executor. In that case from 1935, the court unanimously held that presidents cannot fire independent board members without cause.
The ruling has long rankled conservative legal theorists, who argue it wrongly curtails the president맥스카지노s power. The current conservative majority on the Supreme Court already has narrowed its reach, in a 2020 decision.
Soon the high court could narrow it further or jettison it altogether.
The administration asked for the appellate ruling to be blocked for now, but also suggested the justices should take up and decide the broader issue of presidential power.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit voted 7-4 to return Wilcox and Harris to their jobs while their cases play out. The action of the full appeals court reversed a judgment from a three-judge panel that had allowed the firings to go forward.
The NLRB resolves hundreds of unfair labor practice cases every year. The five-member board lacked a quorum after Wilcox맥스카지노s removal. Wilcox was the first Black woman to serve on the NLRB in its 90-year history. She first joined the board in 2021, and the Senate confirmed her in September 2023 to serve a second term expected to last five years.
The other board in the case reviews disputes from federal workers and could be a significant stumbling block as the administration seeks to carry out its workforce cuts.
Solicitor General D. John Sauer told the Supreme Court that the board members' reinstatement 맥스카지노causes grave and irreparable harm to the President and to our Constitution맥스카지노s system of separated powers.맥스카지노 Harris and Wilcox are removable 맥스카지노at will맥스카지노 by the president, Sauer wrote.
In the lower courts, Trump could not fire her without notice, a hearing or identifying any 맥스카지노neglect of duty or malfeasance in office맥스카지노 on her part.
Perhaps foreshadowing the coming confrontation, the lawyers argued that the administration맥스카지노s 맥스카지노only path to victory맥스카지노 was to persuade the Supreme Court to 맥스카지노adopt a more expansive view of presidential power.맥스카지노