Two appointees of independent agencies whom President Donald Trump fired must be reinstated, the appellate court in the District of Columbia ruled Monday.
The court decided in a 7-4 ruling that the Trump administration has not adequately demonstrated that it is likely to succeed in the lawsuit, brought by National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris.
The four Republicans on the bench dissented. Judge Neomi Rao, a Trump appointee, said she believed Trump’s removal of Harris and Wilcox fell “within his Article II authority.” She said a lower court’s injunction blocking their firings was “wholly unprecedented” and a breach of the judiciary branch’s authority.
Judge Karen Henderson, an appointee of former President George H.W. Bush, said in a brief dissent that only the Supreme Court should make consequential decisions in the case.
The ruling sets up the case for a fight at the Supreme Court, where Trump has been angling to challenge the precedent set by the high court 90 years ago in Humphrey’s Executor vs. United States. The case limited the president’s ability to fire officials of independent agencies, which are typically established by Congress, without causes such as malfeasance or negligence.
Wilcox and Harris were appointed by former President Joe Biden and abruptly fired by Trump without cause when he took office. Wilcox was serving out a five-year term and Harris a seven-year term, limits established to shield the boards from the political whims of changing administrations.
WHAT IS THE 90-YEAR-OLD PRECEDENT TRUMP WANTS OVERTURNED?
The National Labor Relations Board vets workplace complaints in the public and private sectors, while the Merit Systems Protection Board oversees complaints about wrongful terminations in the government. Neither had a quorum to make any decisions while Wilcox and Harris were fired.
The decision by the full bench of judges on the appellate court reversed a prior stay put in place by a three-judge panel. The full panel’s decision is temporary while the lawsuit proceeds and the court examines the merits of the case.