President Trump has fired Jennifer Abruzzo, General Counsel at the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB). Abruzzo has been a fierce advocate for workers, working to administer and enforce the National Labor Relations Act. Abruzzo instituted a number of important reforms aimed at reinvigorating workers’ rights to a union a collective bargaining. Her strong enforcement of workers’ rights put her squarely in the crosshairs of the pro-corporate lobby. Elon Musk, billionaire and head of the Trump administration organization Department of Government Efficiency, has challenged the NLRB’s constitutionality in court in his private capacity as a CEO, rather than be held accountable for allegedly illegally firing SpaceX employees who tried to raise workplace concerns.
This move was widely expected – while in past presidential transitions, General Counsels have typically been permitted to serve out their terms before a new presidential appointment, President Biden also fired former NLRB General Counsel and Trump appointee Peter Robb from this role upon taking office. In 2023, the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals determined that the President does have the authority to remove the NLRB’s General Counsel, but not any of the Members of the Board, who act as an independent federal agency and are intended to be shielded from presidential interference after they are nominated and confirmed by the Senate.