Amicus Briefs
Trump v. Wilcox ; Bessent v. Trump
CASE SUMMARY
NCLA urges the. Supreme Court to stay district court injunctions reinstating National Labor Relations Board Chair Gwynne Wilcox and Merit Systems Protection Board Chair Cathy Harris after President Donald Trump fired them. The Justices should also grant certiorari and review the injunctions in Wilcox and Harris’s cases without waiting for an appeals court to do so, resolving this recurring problem before district courts can reinstate other Executive Branch officials.
The Constitution vests all executive power in the President. That grant of power is complete and exclusive. And it necessarily carries with it the authority to oversee, direct, and, when necessary, remove officers who wield executive power in the President’s name. Of course, the President must delegate executive authority to subordinates to run the day-to-day operations of the Executive Branch. But those officers exercise executive powers on behalf of the President and so must remain under his control. As the Supreme Court recently held in Seila Law v. Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, the President maintains authority to both “supervise and remove the agents who wield executive power in his stead.” That removal authority must be absolute for the President to be able to uphold his constitutional duty to “take Care that the Laws are faithfully executed.”