A three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit seemed inclined on March 18 to allow President Donald Trump’s removals of two agency heads who alleged that their removals violated federal law.
Judges Justin Walker and Karen Henderson asked questions indicating they were skeptical of arguments from Cathy Harris, chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board. Two separate district courts blocked the administration’s firing of her as well as its firing of National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox.
Both agency heads argued that the president disregarded federal law by tersely removing them via emails that didn’t attempt to comply with Congress’s requirement that their termination needs to have a particular cause....
