The other major federal appellate agency, the FLRA, also has now has only two members, split by party, following the firing of Susan Tsui Grundmann. Image: Tada Images/Shutterstock.com
By: FEDweek StaffThe White House has fired a member from both the MSPB and the FLRA in the latest of firings of high-level officials from the central agencies involved with federal workforce matters.
From the MSPB, the White House fired member Cathy Harris, the chair of that board during the Biden administration whose term was to continue into 2028. With now two members, split by party, the board can continue issuing decisions in employee appeals. Decisions of the MSPB only rarely fall along party lines.
While Republican member Henry Kerner’s term expires in March 2030, Ray Limon’s term expires in March 2025, raising the potential that the board could eventually lose its quorum and be unable to issue decisions as was the case through the first Trump administration. However, MSPB clarified that Limon can hold over for up to a year or until a successor is nominated and confirmed – so the board still does have a quorum.
The other major federal appellate agency, the FLRA, also has now has only two members, split by party, following the firing of Susan Tsui Grundmann. Grundmann, a former chair of the MSPB, was confirmed in 2022 as chair of the FLRA—a role that likely will now go on an acting basis to Republican member Colleen Duffy Kiko.
While the FLRA also can continue issuing decisions with only two members, its decisions are more often partisan in nature than those of the MSPB. That leaves the prospect of delays until a third member is confirmed for what could be a large number of complaints from federal unions against Trump administration policies to restrict the scope of bargaining and otherwise limit their role in the workplace.
Said the AFGE union, “These illegal firings are obviously intended to cripple authorities federal employees can appeal to when they face politically-motivated attacks on their jobs and rights. It’s one more piece of evidence demonstrating this administration is engaged in a continued, unlawful attack on federal workers in an attempt to replace qualified public servants with political flunkies loyal to Elon Musk and President Trump, but not the law or Constitution.”
The firings follow those of nearly 20 inspectors general—several of whom have filed a lawsuit claiming those actions were illegal—that of the head of the Office of Special Counsel—who also has filed a suit—and the director of the Office of Government Ethics.
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