Appeals Court Rules Trump Has ‘Ability to Remove’ Democrat-Aligned Bureaucrats ‘Who Wield Substantial Executive Power’
by David Lindfield
A major federal appeals court has struck a decisive blow against long-standing limits on presidential authority, ruling that President Donald Trump may remove Democrat-aligned members of “independent” agencies without having to prove “cause.”
At the center of the case was Trump’s move to fire rogue members of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) at will.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit, in a 2–1 decision issued Friday, held that Congress cannot shield powerful executive-branch officers from the presidential oversight of Trump and all future presidents.
Circuit Judge Neomi Rao Katsas, joined by Judge Justin Walker, both Trump appointees, wrote that the Constitution does not permit Congress to insulate officials who wield significant executive authority.
“Congress may not restrict the President’s ability to remove principal officers who wield substantial executive power,” Judge Katsas wrote, relying heavily on the Supreme Court’s 2020 ruling in Seila Law LLC v. CFPB.
Fired Biden Holdovers Sued Trump to Get Their Jobs Back
The ruling consolidates two cases.
One was brought by Cathy A. Harris, a Biden-appointed MSPB chair who sued Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent after Trump fired her.
The other was filed by Gwynne A. Wilcox, the former Democrat chair of the NLRB, who sued Trump and NLRB Chairman Marvin E. Kaplan after she was removed in January.
Both Biden-loyal holdovers argued that federal statutes protected them from removal unless Trump could demonstrate misconduct or neglect.
Lower-court judges agreed with them, with District Judge Beryl Howell comparing Trump to a “king” or “dictator” and insisting the president lacked authority to terminate NLRB members.
Judge Rudolph Contreras likewise reinstated Harris at the MSPB.