Catherwood LibraryILR School

A federal appeals court has reinstated legal protections for two Democratic members of independent labor boards, ruling that President Trump cannot remove them without cause. The D.C. Circuit Court’s 7–4 decision reverses a prior ruling and maintains that members of the National Labor Relations Board and the Merit Systems Protection Board can only be removed for specific reasons laid out in federal law. The case has broader implications for how much control the president has over agencies designed to operate independently. The Trump administration argued the removal limits infringe on executive authority, while others say they are necessary to preserve impartial decision-making. Without the two members, the boards would not have enough personnel to process cases.