An appeals court decision Monday has reinstated two board members fired by President Donald Trump, setting the stage for a potential Supreme Court battle over presidential power regarding independent agencies.
The big picture: The 7-4 ruling, handed down in the nation’s capital, addressed lawsuits brought by two women removed from agencies dealing with labor issues, one of which plays a crucial role in Trump’s efforts to downsize the federal workforce.
- The decision was based largely on a 90-year-old Supreme Court verdict known as Humphrey’s Executor. It stated that presidents cannot dismiss independent board members without cause.
- This ruling, however, has been a point of contention among conservative legal scholars who argue that it unduly restricts presidential power. With the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court, there is potential for a reversal.
- “The Supreme Court has repeatedly instructed appellate courts to adhere to existing Supreme Court precedent unless or until it is overturned or altered by the Court itself,” the ruling reads.
Go deeper: The seven members of the court who handed down the ruling were appointed by Democratic presidents, with the four in opposition appointed by Republicans.
- The court was divided 6-5 on whether to stay the ruling for a week to allow the Trump administration to immediately appeal to the Supreme Court.
- While the ruling does not represent a final judgment on the case’s legal merits, it does reverse a prior decision by a three-judge panel from the same U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, which had allowed the firings to proceed.
Driving the news: The two fired board members, Cathy Harris and Gwynne Wilcox, were nominated by former President Joe Biden.
- Harris is from the Merit Systems Protection Board, a key obstacle to Trump’s workforce downsizing plans, and Wilcox served on the National Labor Relations Board, where her removal left the five-member board without a quorum to resolve labor disputes.
