Supreme Court Allows Trump to Remove NLRB, MSPB Members

The U.S. Supreme Court granted the Trump administration's emergency request to remove Democrat-appointed members from two independent agencies, the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), temporarily blocking lower court orders that had reinstated them. The 6-3 decision suggests a majority of justices may reconsider the 90-year-old precedent limiting presidential removal power of independent agency members, though the Court has yet to rule on the merits of the case. The Court emphasized the government faces greater harm from allowing removed officers to continue exercising executive power than from barring them pending litigation. Notably, the Court distinguished the Federal Reserve, insulating it from this removal authority due to its unique structure. The removals have created uncertainty at the NLRB, which currently lacks a quorum to hear cases. This ruling signals a significant shift in executive authority over independent agencies and sets the stage for further legal battles over presidential removal powers.