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.
The D.C. Circuit rejected those decisions outright.
NLRB and MSPB Are Executive Agencies, Not Independent Islands
The appeals court held that neither agency resembles the Federal Trade Commission of the 1930s, the body at the center of Humphrey’s Executor, the nearly century-old case Democrats have relied on to shield agency heads from removal.
Instead, the judges emphasized that both the NLRB and MSPB exercise substantial executive power, requiring direct presidential control.
The NLRB, the court noted, has broad rulemaking authority and routinely issues binding regulations that shape national labor policy.
Its adjudications are driven by shifting policy judgments, not mere neutral fact-finding, and the Board frequently reverses course depending on which party controls it.
The NLRB also wields affirmative enforcement powers, such as ordering reinstatement, backpay, and remedies similar to damages.
It litigates cases independently of the Justice Department and oversees national union elections, determining bargaining units and certifying outcomes without presidential or judicial approval.
The MSPB, the judges observed, holds even more expansive executive power.
It can overturn disciplinary actions taken by federal agencies, impose penalties, reinstate terminated employees, award backpay and attorney’s fees, and reshape internal personnel decisions across the federal workforce.
Supreme Court Already Signaled This Outcome
The panel grounded its reasoning in recent Supreme Court decisions, including Seila Law, Collins v. Yellen, and Trump v. United States.
All of which reaffirm the principle that presidents must retain removal power over executive officials.
The court also pointed out that the Supreme Court itself signaled where it stood earlier this year when Chief Justice John Roberts granted a stay of the lower-court rulings reinstating Biden’s appointees.
In that order, the Court stated it was likely that the NLRB and MSPB “exercise considerable executive power” and thus cannot be constitutionally insulated from presidential removal.
What the Ruling Means Going Forward
The decision dismantles statutory provisions that for decades shielded these agencies’ leaders from accountability to the executive branch.
It also marks one of the most consequential wins yet for Trump’s broader effort to reassert presidential control over sprawling federal bureaucracies long regarded as effectively independent.
Unless the Supreme Court reverses it, the ruling cements a dramatic shift in the balance of power between the elected president and unelected regulators, one that could reshape federal governance for decades.
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