Trump administration's firing of 2 members in key US agencies overturned

Two federal board members fired by the Trump administration can go back to their jobs for now, a split appeals court ruled Monday ahead of a likely Supreme Court showdown on the US President's power over independent agencies.

An appeals court in the nation's capital handed down the 7-4 decision in lawsuits brought by two women separately fired from agencies that both deal with issues, including one with a key role for a federal workforce Trump is aiming to drastically downsize.

The order relies largely on a 90-year-old Supreme Court decision known as Humphrey's Executor, which found that presidents can't fire independent board members without cause.


But that ruling has long rankled conservative legal theorists who argue it wrongly curtails the president's power, and experts say the current conservative majority on the Supreme Court may be poised to overturn it.

"The Supreme Court has repeatedly told the courts of appeals to follow extant Supreme Court precedent unless and until that Court itself changes it or overturns it," the majority wrote in an unsigned opinion.

Former President Joe Biden nominated both of the fired board members. Cathy Harris is from the Merit Systems Protection Board, which reviews disputes from federal workers and could be a significant stumbling block as the Trump administration seeks to carry out a dramatic downsizing of the workforce.

Gwynne Wilcox, meanwhile, has served on the National Labor Relations Board, which resolves hundreds of unfair labour practice cases every year.