{"id":2518100,"date":"2025-12-05T17:12:01","date_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:12:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-lets-trump-fire-democratic-appointees-at-agencies\/"},"modified":"2025-12-05T17:14:34","modified_gmt":"2025-12-05T22:14:34","slug":"appeals-court-lets-trump-fire-democratic-appointees-at-agencies","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/appeals-court-lets-trump-fire-democratic-appointees-at-agencies\/","title":{"rendered":"Appeals court lets Trump fire Democratic appointees at agencies"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">18<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fappeals-court-lets-trump-fire-democratic-appointees-at-agencies%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2518100&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit ruled in favor of former president Donald Trump, affirming that he acted within his legal authority when removing Democratic appointees Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National labor Relations Board. This decision overturns previous <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/scotus-to-hear-appeal-over-ky-abortion-law\/\" title=\"SCOTUS to hear appeal over Ky. abortion law\">lower court rulings<\/a> that had protected these members from removal except for cause, citing that these <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >autonomous agencies exert meaningful executive branch power<\/a>. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/federal-court-chides-dem-activists-theres-nothing-racist-about-election-integrity-laws-like-floridas\/\" title=\"Federal ... dismisses claims of racism in Florida&#039;s election integrity laws, rebukes Democratic activists.\">appeals court emphasized<\/a> that Congress cannot limit the president&#8217;s ability to remove members of such boards. the Supreme Court previously issued a ruling supportive of the executive&#8217;s removal power, referencing a 2020 precedent stating that the president can remove executive officers without cause in most cases. Though, legal debates continue, especially regarding a 1935 Supreme Court decision that restricted presidential firing powers in independent agencies. The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear another related case that could potentially overturn this longstanding precedent.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<p><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><\/p>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-header-search-button-mob dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><span class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-button\"><i class=\"tdb-mobile-menu-icon td-icon-mobile\"><\/i><\/span><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search\" aria-labelledby=\"td-header-search-button\">\n<div class=\"tdb-drop-down-search-inner\">\n<form method=\"get\" class=\"tdb-search-form\" action=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\"><\/form>\n<div class=\"tdb-aj-search\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/#\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"Search\" class=\"tdb-head-search-btn dropdown-toggle\" data-toggle=\"dropdown\"><i class=\"tdb-search-icon td-icon-search\"><\/i><\/a><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<h1 class=\"tdb-title-text\">DC appeals court sides with Trump on removing Democratic appointees from independent agencies<\/h1>\n<div><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-title-line\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\">\n<div id=\"Brid_2129876\" class=\"tpd-featured-video bridtv\"><\/div>\n<p>A federal <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/appeals-courts\/\">appeals court<\/a> ruled Friday that President <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/donald-trump\/\">Donald Trump <\/a>was within legal parameters when he fired Democratic appointees at federal agencies and filled the positions with new board members.<\/p>\n<p>The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit handed down a decision ruling that Trump did not abuse presidential powers when he removed Cathy Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board and Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board.<\/p>\n<div class=\"recommended-stories\">\n<h2>Recommended Stories<\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3908911\/former-dea-agent-charged-conspiring-launder-12-million-mexican-cartel\/\">Former DEA agent charged with conspiring to launder $12 million for Mexican cartel<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3908928\/florida-judge-allows-unsealing-epstein-grand-jury-files\/\">Florida judge allows unsealing of Epstein grand jury files<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3908495\/gavin-newsom-spars-pam-bondi-california-redistricting-lawsuit-texas-win\/\">Newsom spars with Bondi over California redistricting lawsuit after Texas win<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"article-paywall\">\n<p>The decision marks a reversal of lower court rulings, which argued the removals were improper because of statutory protections insulating the board members from being fired except for limited reasons, including &ldquo;neglect of duty or malfeasance in office.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p>But the appeals court majority ruled that &ldquo;Congress cannot restrict the President&rsquo;s ability to remove NLRB or MSPB members&rdquo; because the two agencies exert substantial executive branch authority.<\/p>\n<p>Wilcox and Harris sued after being fired by the Trump administration, claiming that their removals violated laws requiring cause for termination. The appeals court disagreed, saying the labor boards have more powers tied to the executive branch and are structured differently than the Federal Trade Commission, members of which the Supreme Court prevented the president from firing in a 1935 decision.<\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court weighed in on the case in May, issuing a verdict that <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3420113\/supreme-court-firings-independent-agency-heads-trump\/\">favored the White House<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>&ldquo;Because the Constitution vests the executive power in the President, he may remove without cause executive officers who exercise that power on his behalf, subject to narrow exceptions recognized by our precedents,&rdquo; the majority held in a 6-3 decision, citing the high court&rsquo;s 2020 precedent in <em>Seila Law LLC v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>But the debate continued to play out in appeals court, as critics raised questions stemming largely from the 1935 decision in <em>Humphrey&rsquo;s Executor v. United States<\/em>, which they believe curtailed Trump&rsquo;s power to fire independent agency members.<\/p>\n<p><a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/justice\/3414043\/dc-circuit-panel-skeptical-trump-administration-independent-officials\/\"><strong>DC CIRCUIT PANEL SKEPTICAL OF TRUMP ADMINISTRATION ABILITY TO FIRE INDEPENDENT OFFICIALS<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>The Supreme Court is set <a target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/news\/supreme-court\/3818917\/supreme-court-to-hear-ftc-firing-lawsuit-challenge-humphreys-executor\/\">to hear another case <\/a>next week that could allow justices to overrule the&nbsp;1935 decision.<\/p>\n<p>The court will examine challenges to Trump&rsquo;s firing of a Democrat-appointed member of the FTC and decide whether the president holds the authority to fire Commissioner Rebecca Slaughter.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"tdb-block-inner td-fix-index\"><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>DC appeals court backs Trump on firing Democratic appointees<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3142,"featured_media":2518101,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/djtt.jpg?w=696","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[32324,57378,36356,3634],"class_list":["post-2518100","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-appeals-court","tag-democratic-appointees","tag-government-agencies","tag-trump"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/djtt.jpg?w=696","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518100","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3142"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2518100"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518100\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2518104,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2518100\/revisions\/2518104"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2518101"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2518100"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2518100"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2518100"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}