A federal judge ruled on Wednesday that President Donald Trump unlawfully fired the head of a board that helps resolve disputes between federal employees and the government.
U.S. District Judge Sparkle Sooknanan ruled in favor of Susan Grundmann, the Democratic-appointed chair of the Federal Labor Relations Authority (FLRA). This decision is part of a larger pattern of courts pushing back against Trump’s attempts to increase his control over independent government agencies.
“The Government’s arguments paint with a broad brush and threaten to upend fundamental protections in our Constitution. But ours is not an autocracy; it is a system of checks and balances,” Judge Sooknanan wrote.
Under federal law, FLRA members like Grundmann are protected from being fired without cause. However, when the White House fired Grundmann last month, it did so through a brief two-sentence email and did not provide any reason for the termination. Instead, the Trump administration argued that the law protecting her from dismissal was unconstitutional.
Judge Sooknanan rejected that argument, pointing to long-established Supreme Court rulings. She reinstated Grundmann for the remainder of her term, unless an appeals court overturns the ruling.
“A straightforward reading of Supreme Court precedent thus resolves the merits of this case,” the judge, an appointee of President Biden, wrote.
Legal experts believe the case may ultimately reach the Supreme Court, where the justices could overturn their past decisions. Some conservative justices have suggested they may be willing to change long-standing precedents.
This ruling comes after similar decisions in other cases. A different district judge previously reinstated Gwynne Wilcox, the chair of the National Labor Relations Board, which oversees disputes between non-federal employees and their employers. Another judge had also returned Cathy Harris to her position as chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board.
In a separate case, former U.S. special counsel Hampton Dellinger dropped his lawsuit challenging his firing after an appeals court upheld it.
Norm Eisen, an attorney representing Grundmann, celebrated the ruling. “Another illegal action by the Trump administration has been struck down. This is an important win for the American people,” he said in a statement.
Judge Sooknanan also addressed a recent hearing in the case, where the Justice Department argued that courts do not have the authority to reinstate Grundmann and can only award back pay. The judge questioned whether the government’s position meant that if the president violated Congress’s authority, there would be no legal recourse.
“That is the government’s position,” said Justice Department lawyer Alexander Resar.
In her ruling, Judge Sooknanan stressed that the case was not just about losing a job, but about constitutional rights. “A check in the mail does not address the gravamen of this lawsuit. Perhaps that is why Ms. Grundmann has not even asked for one,” she wrote.
You can read the judge’s decision below, or on this link.
