House Democrats are calling on President Donald Trump to reverse his unprecedented and legally dubious firing of a member of the National Labor Relations Board.
The lawmakers wrote in a letter to the White House Wednesday that Trump’s ouster of Gwynne Wilcox, a Democrat member supposed to serve through August 2028, violates federal labor law and the constitutional principle of separation of powers.
They also argue Trump is hurting the American workers he promised to help during his campaign.
“The NLRB lacks the quorum necessary to continue its functions ― thus grinding the agency to a halt,” the Democrats wrote. “Furthermore, the firing of this independent agency officer has made it easier for companies, including Amazon, Facebook, Google and SpaceX, to evade allegations that they have broken labor laws.”
The letter was penned by Reps. Bobby Scott (Va.), Jamie Raskin (Md.) and Gerry Connolly (Va.), who serve as ranking members of the House Labor, Judiciary, and Oversight committees, respectively.
They noted that SpaceX is owned by Trump ally Elon Musk, who heads up the so-called “Department of Government Efficiency.” SpaceX has been accused of violating workers’ rights and is pursuing a lawsuit aimed at dismantling the NLRB.
The labor board enforces collective bargaining law in the private sector and typically has five members. Trump inherited a 2-1 Democratic majority and two vacancies on the board, so his firing of Wilcox dropped its makeup to just one Democrat and one Republican. The board needs three members to issue decisions.
By eliminating its quorum, Trump has ensured that the board can’t resolve allegations of union-busting upon appeal. Employers are already using the administrative gridlock to try to defeat organizing campaigns.
But Wilcox’s firing raises greater concerns about presidential power and Trump’s willingness to ignore agency independence and the authority of Congress. In his first three weeks in office, he tried to unilaterally shut down federal agencies and remove officials from other independent bodies in the middle of their terms.
The labor law passed by Congress in 1935 explicitly states that NLRB members can only be fired for “neglect of duty” or “malfeasance” and only after a hearing. Trump fired Wilcox without warning and did not accuse her of wrongdoing — only of being insufficiently deferential to employers.
“Having failed to provide Member Wilcox a hearing or to allege proper cause for her removal, the firing of Member Wilcox is unlawful,” Scott, Raskin and Connolly wrote.
The lawmakers asked the White House to provide “all communications” from the administration or the Trump transition team regarding Wilcox’s removal, including with outside groups. However, with Democrats in the minority, they have no way to enforce this request with a subpoena.
Trump’s Justice Department informed Raskin in a letter Wednesday that they believe tenure protections like those for NLRB members are “unconstitutional.” Justice officials signaled they plan to challenge a 90-year-old U.S. Supreme Court precedent that protects such officials from removal by the president.
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Wilcox filed a lawsuit last week challenging her firing and asking that a judge reinstate her, though no rulings have been issued in the case. She said in a statement that her removal was “both unlawful and unprecedented.”
She added, “I hope to be able to fulfill the job that the Senate confirmed me to do so the crucial work of the NLRB can continue.”