The former chairman of a lesser-known agency hearing dismissal or appeals by disciplined federal employees has been ordered to be reinstated to her position by a federal judge.
Kathy Harris, a Democrat who led the Merritt Systems Protection Board (MSPB) until fired by President Donald Trump on February 10, was redirected to her position after a judge issued a permanent injunction.
Harris filed an appeal the day after the looting, claiming that Trump and other federal officials have no authority to terminate her, and that emails outlining her dismissal provided no reason to end her.
She cited Humphrey’s Enforcer v. United States’ 1935 ruling that limits the president’s ability to fire certain engineers. Some justices in today’s 6-3 conservative majority courts have shown an willingness to suppress or perhaps overturn that ruling.
President Donald Trump and Kathy Harris (Bonnie Cash/Up/Bloomberg via Getty Images, left, US Merit System Protection Commission, right).
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Rudolf Contreras of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia agreed to Harris, writing that federal law states that MSPB members could be excluded from their duties “only because of inefficiency, neglect of duty, or tenure.”
Contreras wrote that President Donald Trump told Harris that her position at the MSPB “was soon closed and immediately effective,” but did not provide a reason for Harris’ firing.
Harris was appointed to the board of directors in 2022 for a seven-year term by former President Joe Biden. The Merit System Protection Commission is the primary agency used by civil servants to file complaints within the federal government.
Trump named Republican Henry Kerner acting chairman when he returned to the White House on January 20th.
President Donald Trump fired Harris and offered no reason. (Tierney L. Cross/Getty Images)
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Contreras also ordered Harris to continue serving as a member of MSPB until his term expires.
Contreras, a Democrat named President Barack Obama and has been in court since 2012, agreed on February 18 that Harris would issue a temporary restraining order to chair the three boards until the court decides to file her case. After Monday’s hearing, the judge issued a permanent injunction extending the previous order.
“There is no doubt that Harris has been injured in this independently in her ability as a member of the MSPB following the President’s attempt to end her without any reason.
“And more, unlike most other federal employees, Harris was officially appointed by the President and confirmed his position by the Senate years on specific reasons for her removal.”
Harris was nominated for former President Biden. (via Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP Getty Images)
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The judge wrote that injunctive relief in this case is in the public interest and that the balance of stocks is in Harris’s favor.
” Given that federal law limits the conditions in which Harris’s tenure may end, the Supreme Court precedents uphold the constitutionality of those conditions, and the defendants have not argued that these conditions were met here.
Government lawyers had alleged that the courts had no authority to revive Harris or Barr Trump from her successor on the board.
“The Americans elected President Trump to run the enforcement department,” they wrote in court documents. “And President Trump decided that maintaining his position (Harris) would no longer serve the best interests of the American people. He decided that democratically accountable choices should be respected.”
The Associated Press and Reuters contributed to the report.
Michael Dorgan is a writer for Fox News Digital and Fox Business.
You can submit tips to Michael.dorgan@fox.com and follow him on Twitter @M_Dorgan.
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