A U.S. District Judge has directed the restoration of Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat and member of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Wilcox was dismissed by President Donald Trump soon after his inauguration in January 2025. This verdict is a significant limitation on presidential authority over independent entities.
In her verdict on Thursday, U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell stated that Trump’s dismissal of Wilcox was “unlawful” and “therefore null and void.” Wilcox, who was appointed by former President Joe Biden to serve till August 2028, was the first Black woman to serve on the NLRB.
Judge Howell, in her judgment, wrote, “The President’s interpretation of the scope of his constitutional power – or, more aptly, his aspiration – is flat wrong,”. She further clarified that the President does not have the power to dismiss members of the National Labor Relations Board at will, asserting that his attempt to dismiss Wilcox was a clear violation of the law.
Wilcox’s dismissal by Trump in January resulted in the loss of the NLRB’s quorum, effectively incapacitating the agency responsible for enforcing collective-bargaining law and protecting workers’ rights to unionize. The five-member board was left with only two members, rendering it incapable of issuing decisions.
The administration’s legal team argued that NLRB members should be “removable at will to ensure democratic accountability.” However, the National Labor Relations Act clearly stipulates that board members can only be dismissed for “neglect of duty” or “malfeasance,” and only after being given “notice and hearing.” Judge Howell pointed out in her ruling that no president had previously tried to remove an NLRB member.
In a strongly worded judgement, Howell criticised Trump’s understanding of presidential powers. She mentioned a February 15 post by Trump on X, where he declared, “He who saves his Country does not violate any Law.”
Howell wrote, “A President who touts an image of himself as a ‘king’ or a ‘dictator,’ perhaps as his vision of effective leadership, fundamentally misapprehends the role under Article II of the U.S. Constitution.”
After her dismissal in January, Wilcox filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement. “When Congress established the National Labor Relations Board almost 90 years ago, it made sure that the law would protect its independence from political influence,” Wilcox said in a statement at that time. “My removal, without cause or process, directly violates that law.”
The judge’s ruling is partly based on a 90-year-old Supreme Court precedent, Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which restricts the president’s power to dismiss officials from independent, quasi-judicial bodies. The Court held in this 1935 case that the president’s removal power is limited for independent regulatory agency officials, asserting they can only be dismissed for the reasons specified by Congress.
The Trump administration swiftly appealed against the ruling, potentially setting the stage for a Supreme Court confrontation over executive power. This case is one of several recent court decisions concluding that Trump unlawfully dismissed Senate-confirmed members of independent agencies, including officials from the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission and the Federal Election Commission.
Wilma Liebman, a former NLRB member, told HuffPost that Trump’s dismissal of Wilcox was “shocking” and posed a threat to the agency’s role as an independent enforcer of the law. “It has the intent, I suppose, of trying to transform a neutral, objective, adjudicatory body into Trump’s henchmen,” Liebman said. “To me, it seems that the obvious first intent is to create chaos and make the agency inoperative.”
The verdict is part of larger efforts by the Trump administration to assert comprehensive executive control over independent agencies. These efforts include the removal of inspectors general and ordering White House review of regulations issued by independent agencies.
Legal experts speculate that the Supreme Court’s conservative majority may be open to the argument that the president should have wider authority over independent agencies. They may consider revisiting, narrowing, or overturning the Humphrey’s Executor precedent.
However, Judge Howell made it clear that until the Supreme Court changes existing law, current precedent supports Wilcox’s reinstatement. The judge’s ruling reinstates the NLRB’s three-member quorum, enabling the agency to resume its functions of protecting workers’ rights to unionize and bargain collectively.
The ultimate resolution of the appeals process may redefine the relationship between the executive branch and independent regulatory agencies for the coming decades.
