Trump Fires 2 EEOC Democratic Commissioners In Rare Move (2 )

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic Equal Employment Opportunity Commission members in an unprecedented relocation that the Democrats’ ballot majority on the board, the pair validated in declarations Tuesday.

Trump’s shooting of EEOC Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows leaves two seats on the five-member civil rights panel to be filled by nominations from the new administration.

The president also axed the commission’s basic counsel, employment Karla Gilbride, employment who verified her dismissal in a statement posted to LinkedIn on Tuesday evening.

The shootings of Samuels and Burrows bypass historical precedent of leaving commissioners in place at the independent company. Their ouster clears a course for employment the Trump administration to advance its second-term civil rights law program, which has so far targeted diversity, equity, and inclusion programs and gender identity protections through executive orders.

Due to staggered terms, the Democrats would have preserved a bulk on the five-member EEOC till 2026, when Samuels’ term was set to expire. Without the Democrats’ ballot bloc in place, just recently named acting chair, Republican Andrea Lucas, and future Trump appointees can steer the company’s policy and lawsuits program.

Burrows, employment the previous chair of the EEOC, Samuels, and Gilbride got word of their firings from the White House late Monday.

«I am proud of the work my colleagues and I have done to help eliminate barriers for level playing field for all workers and to promote fair and nondiscriminatory offices. While I strongly disagree with the President’s actions, and will explore all legal options readily available to me, I will continue to do all I can to fight for the rights of American workers and to support the efforts of others who do the same,» Burrows stated her declaration, in which she likewise said she’s working with legal representatives from Katz Banks Kumin LLP.

Trump also terminated 2 other essential officials from another independent labor-focused agency, the National Labor Relations Board. He fired Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox and employment Biden-era General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo on Monday.

The firings come after Republican-led states have cited securities commissioners at the EEOC have from being eliminated as unconstitutional in separate claims challenging the company’s workplace anti-harassment guidance and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rules.

The EEOC is among several federal agencies dealing with suits from challengers that argue its leadership is unconstitutionally secured from being fired at will by the president.

«It has actually been an honor and an advantage to function as an EEOC Commissioner, and I deeply regret this Administration’s short-sighted and extraordinary decision to remove me from a position to which I stay committed. I am considering my legal choices and will continue to advocate strenuously for the civil liberties of all employees,» Samuels stated in a statement.

Gilbride’s shooting has more precedent in the commission’s history. Former President Joe Biden fired Trump-appointed EEOC Chair Sharon Gustafson in 2021 after she declined to step down.

Gilbride stated in her posted declaration she takes pride in the results the EEOC attains for workers, and is «discouraged by the current executive orders that appear planned to sidetrack federal companies from their day-to-day work of serving the general public and rather force them to focus on settling ratings with, and removing traces of, the previous administration.»

Only Lucas, employment who Trump called as acting chair Jan. 20, along with Democratic Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal remain on the civil rights panel. There is likewise a job open from a seat left by Keith Sonderling, who Trump recently called deputy labor secretary.