President Donald Trump fired National Labor Relations Board Member Gwynne Wilcox, who is arguing in federal court that the president does not have the legal authority to do so. (NLRB; AP Photo; US District Court)
Lawyers for Wilcox maintain that congressional statute dictates that appointed NLRB board members can only be removed from office for neglect of duty or malfeasance, and that Trump attempted to remove her without cause. According to the plaintiffs, Trump is the first president to attempt to remove an NLRB member.
Federal Judge Beryl Howell acknowledged that Wilcox's case would likely end up in the Supreme Court. (AP Photo)
DOJ lawyer Harry Graver argued for the government and agreed that the president did not attempt to fire Wilcox for malfeasance or neglect, but that the president has the power to hire and fire within the administration.
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Howell seemed to bristle at Graver’s view of presidential power. "Anybody in the executive branch is subject to removal by the president? That is the most extreme version of the unitary executive theory I have ever heard."
Howell took the arguments and briefings under advisement and is expected to make a ruling in the coming days. For now, Gwynne Wilcox remains out of her job, and the NLRB remains without a quorum, so it cannot resolve any labor disputes.
Jake Gibson is the Fox News Department of Justice and Federal Law Enforcement Producer.
https://www.foxnews.com/politics/fired-nlrb-commissioner-asks-federal-judge-reinstatement