Trump Appeals District Court’s PCLOB Reinstatements

DOJ on behalf of Trump appealed the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia’s decision to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. The U.S. Supreme Court’s recent order (see 2505230044) halting a lower court’s reinstatement of members of the National Labor Relations Board and a Merit Systems Protection Board employee supports a stay against the PCLOB reinstatements, DOJ said. The department cited the Supreme Court’s finding that there could be a “greater risk of harm” to the government than the fired workers, if the workers are reinstated.

DOJ argued the PCLOB exercises executive power similar to that of the FTC. The department has stated its intention to argue before the Supreme Court that the president may remove officers wielding significant executive power like those at the FTC. “Congress has not acted clearly to upend the settled default rule that the power to remove is incident to the power to appoint,” said DOJ in Tuesday’s filing.