Overview

• The Supreme Court issued an unsigned emergency order allowing President Trump to remove Gwynne Wilcox and Cathy Harris from the NLRB and MSPB, respectively, without cause.
• This decision leaves both agencies unable to function due to a lack of quorum, while the case returns to the D.C. Circuit for further review.
• The ruling suggests the Court may narrow or overturn the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, which has long protected independent agency officials from at-will dismissal.
• The Court carved out an exception for the Federal Reserve, maintaining its independence, but legal experts have criticized this distinction as lacking substantive legal justification.
• Justice Elena Kagan, in dissent, warned that the decision undermines precedent and criticized the use of the shadow docket for significant constitutional questions.