The US Supreme Court has declined to hear an appeal by former National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox challenging her dismissal by President Donald Trump in January 2025.
The justices on Monday rejected Wilcox’s appeal against a lower court ruling that upheld Trump’s decision to remove her, ruling that the Republican president acted within his executive authority.
The decision follows the Supreme Court’s ruling in June that backed Trump’s dismissal of Rebecca Slaughter, a Democratic-appointed member of the Federal Trade Commission.
That ruling overturned a 1935 precedent known as Humphrey’s Executor, which had recognised Congress’s authority to protect leaders of certain regulatory agencies from being removed by the president at will.
The decision marked a major victory for a decades-long conservative effort to strengthen presidential control over key government institutions.
Trump’s dismissal of Wilcox was part of his broader effort to restructure and downsize the US government, which has included firing thousands of federal workers, dismantling agencies, appointing loyalists to key positions and removing career officials.
Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Wilcox expressed disappointment, saying the case was important not only to her but also to workers and employers who depend on the NLRB to settle labour disputes fairly and independently.
“I’m disappointed that the Supreme Court has declined to hear this case, not only for myself, but also for the workers and employers who rely on the National Labor Relations Board to resolve labor disputes impartially and free from political pressure,” Wilcox said in a statement.
She added that she remained committed to “protecting the principles that allow the board to serve the public fairly.”
The US Justice Department declined to comment on the development.
Wilcox, the first Black woman to serve on the NLRB, was appointed to a second five-year term in 2023 by former Democratic President Joe Biden. Trump moved to fire her about a week after beginning his second presidential term, prompting her to file a lawsuit. Slaughter was also appointed by Biden.
The legal battles over Trump’s removal of Wilcox and other officials have become a major test of his efforts to bring federal agencies designed by Congress to operate independently under greater presidential control.
In March 2025, US District Judge Beryl Howell upheld the federal law protecting NLRB officials from dismissal without cause. She rejected Trump’s argument that the law infringed on powers granted to the president by the US Constitution.
However, the ruling was overturned in December 2025 by a 2-1 decision of the US Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit, leading Wilcox to appeal to the Supreme Court.
