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.”
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Grundmann, an appointee of Trump’s Democratic predecessor Joe Biden, was fired on Feb. 11 without explanation.
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