A federal judge on Wednesday ruled that President Donald Trump lacked the authority to remove a Democratic member from the Federal Labor Relations Authority, ordering that Susan Tsui Grundmann be reinstated to her post.
The decision by U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan in Washington, D.C., is a blow to Trump’s broader efforts to assert control over independent agencies and reshape the federal workforce.
“In the nearly fifty years since the FLRA’s creation, no President has ever removed a Member. Until now,” Sooknanan wrote in her opinion. “The Government’s argument that the statutory removal provision is unconstitutional cannot be reconciled with longstanding Supreme Court precedent that is binding on this Court.”
Grundmann, an appointee of Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, was fired on Feb. 11 without explanation. The FLRA, which adjudicates disputes between federal agencies and government employee unions, is designed to be independent of White House influence. Under the law, its members can only be removed “for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”
Sooknanan’s decision to reinstate Gundmann for now restores a 2-1 Democratic majority on the quasi-judicial body until her term expires in July.
Norm Eisen, executive chairman of the State Democracy Defenders Fund, which represented Grundmann, called the decision “an important win for the American people.”
“The judge further ordered that Grundmann be given access to the government facilities and equipment necessary to carry out her duties,” Eisen said, adding that “another illegal action by the Trump administration has been struck down.”
The ruling follows a contentious hearing on Friday in which Sooknanan appeared skeptical of the Justice Department’s argument that courts cannot force the president to reinstate unlawfully fired officials.
Last month, a federal judge dismissed a lawsuit by unions over mass federal worker firings, ruling their claims must be addressed by the FLRA.
The attempt to remove independent board members has faced mixed outcomes for Trump. Last week, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit upheld his removal of Hampton Dellinger from a State Department oversight board after a lower court decision previously reinstated him, prompting Dellinger to drop his lawsuit.
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However, judges in separate cases have ordered officials at the National Labor Relations Board and Merit Systems Protection Board to be reinstated after similar dismissals, signaling continued legal battles over Trump’s authority to reshape independent agencies.
The ruling is expected to be appealed and could ultimately reach the Supreme Court.
