More than two dozen congressional Democrats are urging an appeals court to rule that President Donald Trump cannot fire members of the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
It’s the latest Democratic attempt to push back against the Trump administration’s dramatic reshaping of independent agencies. Several emergency rulings from the Supreme Court have set the stage for Trump to override independent agencies and greatly expand his presidential power.
The group of Democrats — from both the House and Senate — say they “have an unparalleled interest in affirming Congress’s authority to enact removal protections for the CPSC and the over thirty other multimember independent agencies created by Congress.”
“The President’s actions contradict longstanding historical practice and Supreme Court precedent, which have repeatedly affirmed Congress’s authority to create multimember independent agencies,” they added in a statement shared with NOTUS on Tuesday.
Lawyers on behalf of Sens. Amy Klobuchar, Richard Blumenthal and 25 other members of Congress filed an amicus brief Friday in Boyle v. Trump, which is currently at the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals. The court is set to decide again whether the president was legally within his rights to fire three Democratic commissioners of the traditionally bipartisan commission without cause.
These lawmakers insist that the commissioners can only be fired for cause.
“By illegally firing the three Democratic commissioners, the President has undermined the independent structure of the Commission and its critical work— we can’t let that happen,” said Klobuchar.
The members also outlined the history of the CPSC in setting standards and regulations about product safety, and the historical precedent for Congress’ ability to create and protect independent regulatory boards.
The administration appealed a district judge’s June ruling that the firings were illegal. The Supreme Court decided last week that the administration could go ahead with the firings while awaiting a ruling from the appeals court.
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the New Civil Liberties Alliance and several Republican-controlled states have filed briefs supporting the administration, while consumer protection groups including the Consumer Federation of America are aligned in favor of the commissioners.
Whether the president can shake up the leadership of positions and entities created by Congress has become one of the central issues of Trump’s presidency in recent months. Trump also removed two members of the Federal Trade Commission in March, and, last month, Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook, who is now suing Trump.