Federal Judge Blocks Trump’s Firing Of A Labor Regulator — And Sounds An Alarm

Letting the president boot the head of an agency protecting federal workers could enable unlawful political meddling, the judge said.

A federal judge on Tuesday blocked President Donald Trump from firing the chair of an agency that protects the rights of government workers, saying the official’s efforts to get her job reinstated were likely to succeed.

Cathy Harris, who headed up the Merit Systems Protection Board, or MSPB, received an email from the Trump administration last Monday saying she was being removed from her position. Harris, a Democratic member of the board whose term was supposed to run into 2028, said her firing was illegal and quickly filed a lawsuit seeking reinstatement.

In the Tuesday order, Judge Rudolph Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia said it was in the public’s interest to block Harris’ removal with a temporary restraining order as her case makes its way through court. Not letting her challenge her own firing would cause “irreparable harm,” he wrote.

The MSPB hears appeals from federal workers who believe they have been wrongly disciplined or fired. The small, little-known agency is taking on outsize importance as the Trump administration swings a wrecking ball at the federal workforce, firing probationary employees en masse in what unions have called an illegal purge that violates due process.

Many of those workers would need to take their cases to the MSPB — an agency that Trump appears to be trying to weaken or deadlock. The independent body typically has three members who serve 7-year terms and have the power to overrule federal employee firings.