Federal workers turn to little-known ‘merit board’ as they try to avoid Trump’s mass layoffs
CNN
Federal workers are rushing to a little-known and understaffed office to try to save their jobs from President Donald Trump’s mass government layoffs, in hopes that it will be a bulwark against the president and Elon Musk as they push for more cuts.
Federal workers are rushing to a little-known and understaffed office to try to save their jobs from President Donald Trump’s mass government layoffs, in hopes that it will be a bulwark against the president and Elon Musk as they push for more cuts. The Merit Systems Protection Board, or MSPB, is facing an avalanche of new cases as the Trump administration plows ahead with its efforts to significantly reduce the ranks of the federal government. The board is also grappling with what one judge recently described as a “nakedly illegal” attempt by Trump to prematurely remove the chairwoman of the independent agency. The Biden-appointed chairwoman will be back in court Monday for another hearing on how long she can stay in the role, as the Trump administration continues to try to push her out. The obscure board – barely known outside of government – is set to become the next major battleground for Trump and the federal workers he’s trying to fire. Its increasingly important role became clear after some judges recently turned away lawsuits about the cuts, telling employees and their unions that they need to go to MSPB first to review firings. Federal workers filed more new cases last week than in the previous 12 weeks combined, according to the board, and more than 2,700 cases have been filed since Trump’s inauguration. The board’s executive director acknowledged to CNN that it is currently “understaffed,” but expressed confidence that it can handle the surge of cases.
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Pipe bomb suspect told FBI he targeted US political parties because they were ‘in charge,’ memo says
The man accused of placing two pipe bombs in Washington, DC, on the eve of the January 6, 2021, riot at the US Capitol told investigators after his arrest that he believed someone needed to “speak up” for people who believed the 2020 election was stolen and that he wanted to target the country’s political parties because they were “in charge,” prosecutors said Sunday.