Appeals panel temporarily lifts order deeming Trump firing of federal employee labor board head unlawful
The panel of three judges on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit granted the government's request for an administrative stay, meaning Trump may remove FLRA chair Susan Grundmann from the post, for now. The FLRA resolves disputes between federal employees and the government.
In March, U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan rejected the Trump administration's arguments that the removal protections afforded to FLRA members like Grundmann, which are meant to prevent termination without cause, are unconstitutional. The White House did not purport to have cause to fire the FLRA chair when it did so in a two-sentence email earlier this year.
Sooknanan effectively reinstated Grundmann for the rest of her term unless an appeals court overturns the ruling. She relied on longstanding Supreme Court precedent in her decision.
'A straightforward reading of Supreme Court precedent thus resolves the merits of this case,' the judge, an appointee of former President Biden, wrote.
However, legal experts believe that precedent could be in peril, as some of the court's conservatives have signaled a willingness to overturn the Supreme Court's own past ruling. Several other lawsuits have been brought challenging Trump's firings of independent agency members.
Last month, the Supreme Court cleared the way for Trump to fire two Democratic-appointed independent agency leaders, for now, over the dissents of the court's three liberal justices.
The emergency order lifted a lower decision reinstating the two officials — National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) member Cathy Harris — which handed Trump a win in his efforts to expand executive control over the federal bureaucracy.
The panel ordered Grundmann to file a response to the government's motion for a stay pending appeal by June 23. Any government reply is due June 27.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
12 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Top Copper Nation Chile Sweats on Details of Trump's 50% Tariff
(Bloomberg) -- Chile, by far the biggest shipper of copper into the US, is waiting for details to emerge following President's Donald Trump's bombshell comments on tariffs. Are Tourists Ruining Europe? How Locals Are Pushing Back Can Americans Just Stop Building New Highways? Denver City Hall Takes a Page From NASA Philadelphia Trash Piles Up as Garbage Workers' Strike Drags On Trump sent shock-waves through the global copper industry on Tuesday by telling reporters that he would be slapping a 50% levy on copper imports — much higher than previously thought. Chile — and particularly state-owned Codelco — would be the most affected producer given the country accounts for about 500,000 metric tons of the total of 700,000 tons of refined metal that the US imports a year. Of that, Codelco alone ships about 350,000 tons. Asked about the 50% remarks, Chile's Foreign Ministry pointed out that there's still no executive order regarding a Commerce Department investigation into copper tariffs, and that Chile is yet to receive notification of any decision. Similarly, Codelco Chairman Maximo Pacheco said it's too soon to draw conclusions. Two major unknowns are whether there'll be country exemptions and whether the tariff will apply to both semi-fabricated copper products as well as refined metal, Pacheco said. The US needs that copper and Chile will continue to be ready to supply it, he said. Chilean officials participated in public consultations in the framework of the Commerce Department investigation. 'We remain in contact and engaged in discussions on this and other matters with the relevant authorities and technical teams,' Chile's Foreign Ministry said in a written response. Will Trade War Make South India the Next Manufacturing Hub? 'Telecom Is the New Tequila': Behind the Celebrity Wireless Boom SNAP Cuts in Big Tax Bill Will Hit a Lot of Trump Voters Too Pistachios Are Everywhere Right Now, Not Just in Dubai Chocolate For Brazil's Criminals, Coffee Beans Are the Target ©2025 Bloomberg L.P. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
Yahoo
18 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Amazon, Walmart discount week clouded by Trump's tariff uncertainty
Amazon and Walmart's annual discount bonanzas start today, but the retail giants are battling the White House as much as each other. Trump's trade wars have scrambled consumer behavior, and it's anyone's guess as to whether shoppers will rush to load up on pre-tariffed goods or put off discretionary sprees out of deepening concerns over the economy. Some merchants that sell on Amazon are sitting out Prime Day — anyone hoping for discounted artisanal ice trays will be disappointed — and Walmart may see a chance to pick up share in its make-or-break e-commerce push. — Liz Hoffman Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
New York Post
18 minutes ago
- New York Post
Federal agents stormed LA's MacArthur Park to root out MS-13 gangbangers — before Mayor Karen Bass confronted them: sources
Immigration agents who flooded a Los Angeles park on Monday said they were there as a 'show of force' to protect residents from MS-13 gangbangers and open air drug markets — before they were furiously confronted by Mayor Karen Bass. The grandstanding Democratic mayor tried to banish the ICE and Border Patrol officials, who descended on MacArthur Park Monday, in a chaotic scene, blasting the operation as 'un-American.' But ICE and Border Patrol sources told The Post that they were there to try and help clean up the park, which has long been plagued by gang activity, homelessness and drug addicts overdosing on fentanyl and animal tranquilizers. 'This pisses me off. She is scared for the kid's safety … due to immigration officials at the park, but never scared for their safety when the park is filled with homeless, drugs, MS-13 and violence,' a federal law enforcement source fumed. 'Make it make sense,' they added. 'That park is very famous, but full of druggies, homeless and people selling fake documents,' said another fed source, adding that Bass 'wants to stay relevant, but we're not going anywhere.' Last August, Bass visited the park after the owner of Langer's Deli, Norm Langer, threatened to shut the doors of his popular eatery after almost 80 years in business due to safety concerns, the LA Times reported. The mayor even admitted she was aware of businesses in the area having to 'essentially pay gang members' in order to stay open. 'I'm not an attorney, but it sounds like extortion to me, and it needs to be addressed immediately,' she said at the time. A local security guard also told the LA Times that he often faces violent interactions with drug addicts — and carries Narcan in his pocket to revive overdose victims. 'I've had knives pulled on me, I've had people try to stab me with a screwdriver, and just the other day I got hit with a wooden bat,' Gabriel Sanchez said. 3 Gang related graffiti marking territory is seen in MacArthur Park. Los Angeles Times via Getty Images 3 Bass showed up at the federal operation as agents attempted to clear the park. AP Almost a year after Bass promised to clean up MacArthur Park, she berated the presence of federal law enforcement officers, yelling at the agents on Monday to leave and stop their 'political stunt.' 'What I saw in the park today looked like a city under siege,' the mayor told reporters following the confrontation. 'It's outrageous and un-American to have armed vehicles in our American parks.' 3 Horse-mounted Border Patrol agents joined ICE in MacArthur Park. AP Bass said Monday's operation disrupted a children's summer camp, which corralled the kids into a nearby basement during the sweep. Members of the St. John's Community Health Center, who were conducting their daily checkups with homeless people in the park, were also pushed out, officials said. 'Minutes before, there were more than 20 kids playing — then, the MILITARY comes through,' Bass vented on X, posting a time-lapse video of the agents marching across an empty soccer field inside the park. 'The SECOND I heard about this, I went to the park to speak to the person in charge to tell them it needed to end NOW. Absolutely outrageous. 'I think the goal is to spread fear,' Bass added of Monday's operation, as she vowed to uphold the city's status as a sanctuary for immigrants. Bass' office didn't immediately respond to The Post's request for comment.
