Supreme Court says Trump can fire Democrat-appointed board members

Donald Trump’s firings have been challenged at all levels, but Trump just got a bit of a break.

The Supreme Court has overruled the lower court's decision that blocked Trump from firing two Democrat-appointed board members.

Fired

Donald Trump decided to let NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox and Democrat MSPB Board member Cathy Harris go after he took office.

Both had considerable time left on their appointments, but Trump wanted them removed to replace them with his own appointments.

Democrats went berserk over the firings, but there was a precedent in place to support Trump’s move.

If you recall, after taking office, Joe Biden had fired Trump’s appointees to the boards of our military academies.

Can’t Do That

The question then became whether Trump's firing of these board members was legal, and both women filed suit to be reinstated.

U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell reinstated Wilcox, blocked the firing, stating, "An American President is not a king -- not even an 'elected' one -- and his power to remove federal officers and honest civil servants like plaintiff is not absolute.”

Harris had also drawn a Democrat-appointed judge in her case, who also ordered the administration to reinstate her.

The administration appealed the rulings, ultimately appealing to the Supreme Court to block the rulings.

Some Relief

To everyone’s surprise, Trump finally caught a break, with the Supreme Court ruling in his favor, at least for now. The Court kicked the cases back down to the lower courts, but it also stayed the lower courts' ruling.

The Court stated, “That question is better left for resolution after full briefing and argument.”

It continued, “The stay also reflects our judgment that the Government faces greater risk of harm from an order allowing a removed officer to continue exercising the executive power than a wrongfully removed officer faces from being unable to perform her statutory duty.”

The one thing that makes me feel good about this case is that other firings have come before the Court, and it has allowed the reinstatement to stay in place. I feel hopeful that, at least in this case, this is a sign of what the Court’s final decision will be.