Appeals court hears arguments over Trump's bid to fire 2 board members

WASHINGTON — A Justice Department attorney on Tuesday urged an appeals court to suspend judicial orders favoring two board members who were fired by President Donald Trump from their respective posts in the federal government.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit didn't immediately rule after hearing attorneys' arguments.

On March 4, U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras ruled that Trump illegally tried to fire Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris. Two days later, U.S. District Judge Beryl Howell ruled that Trump did not have the authority to remove Gwynne Wilcox from the National Labor Relations Board.

The Trump administration is seeking a stay of those orders while they appeal the decisions. The appellate court will hear arguments on the merits of the government's appeal on a date to be determined.

Government attorneys argue that the judges' rulings undermine Trump's ability to lawfully exercise his executive authority. “They are agency heads who answer to no one but the president,” said Justice Department attorney Eric McArthur.

The board members' lawyers assert that U.S. Supreme Court precedent is on their side.

“The government is asking you to throw out centuries of precedent,” Nathaniel Zelinsky, an attorney for Harris, told the panel.

“These statutes have been around for a century, and presidents have not gone around violating them,” said Deepak Gupta, a lawyer for Wilcox.

Harris was nominated to the board by President Joe Biden in 2021. Biden nominated Wilcox to a second five-year term as an NLRB member in 2023.

The case was heard by Judges Karen LeCraft Henderson, Patricia Millett and Justin Walker. Trump nominated Walker in 2020, during his first term in the White House.