Trump's power push stalls federal worker appeals at merit board

Trump's June 3 executive order reclassified about 8,000 policy-influencing positions into a new Schedule Policy/Career category. Federal workers who challenge firings are still waiting longer for final review as Donald J. Trump pushes to remake the rules around who can serve in senior career posts. The White House said the change would make it easier to remove senior officials for poor performance, misconduct, corruption or subversion of presidential directives.

The fight has centered on the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board, one of the few forums where federal employees can contest removals and other adverse actions outside their own agencies. Congress created the modern MSPB framework in the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978, and the agency’s mission is to protect the Merit System Principles and guard against prohibited personnel practices. Trump fired MSPB Chair Cathy Harris on February 10, 2025, and Raymond Limon later stepped down, leaving the board without a quorum and thousands of appeals in limbo.

By late May 2025, the board had received 11,166 appeals, about twice its typical workload in an entire fiscal year. Over the prior year, it handled 20,335 cases. Without a quorum, the board could not deliver final review in many cases, leaving employees who had been removed, suspended or otherwise disciplined without final review.

A federal judge later ruled Harris’s firing unlawful, finding that the law permits removal only for inefficiency, neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. The administration argued in related disputes that personnel challenges should stay inside the MSPB rather than move straight into federal court. On September 26, 2025, the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel said MSPB administrative judges must resolve constitutional arguments raised by executive agencies in removal appeals.

The Senate restored a quorum on October 7, 2025, when it confirmed James J. Woodruff II. He was sworn in on October 28, 2025, and his term runs until March 1, 2032.