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Trump has inherent power to fire civil service chair: Judges

homesafetytechpros — Mon, 31 Mar 2025 13:55:18 +0000

Left: Donald Trump speaks at the annual Road to Majority conference in Washington, DC, in June 2024 (Allison Bailey/NurPhoto via AP). Right: Cathy Harris speaking at a Senate HSGAC Committee nominations hearing on Sept. 21, 2021, to become member and chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board (Sen. James Lankford/YouTube).

A federal appeals court will leave in place an earlier ruling allowing the president to terminate the head of a board that reviews firings of federal employees after the Justice Department argued that staying its order would effectively disenfranchise those who voted for President Donald Trump.

A three-judge panel on the U.S. Circuit Court for the District of Columbia had previously rejected a request to stay its decision allowing President Trump to fire Cathy A. Harris from the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB). Mirroring the appellate panel’s Friday tally, the judges voted 2-1 in rejecting a request to stay its Friday decision, which granted a stay of a lower court’s order that required Harris be returned to her role on the board.

U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee, and U.S. Circuit Judge Karen L. Henderson, an appointee of George H.W. Bush, on Friday both voted in favor of staying the district court’s ruling, while U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, a Barack Obama appointee, dissented. Harris immediately requested a stay of the appeals court’s order pending her request that the case be presented to the court “en banc,” meaning all of the judges on the circuit.

Walker and Henderson again voted to reject Harris’ request for a stay of the stay while Millett said she would grant the request.

Harris, a Democrat who was nominated to the MSPB by President Joe Biden, was supposed to serve until her term expired in 2028 before she received notice last month that she was “terminated, effective immediately.” Without Harris, the board lacks a quorum, which could hamper its ability to function as the Trump administration continues its sprawling efforts to gut the federal workforce.

“As a panel of this Court explained in Dellinger v. Bessent — when staying an order reinstating another principal executive officer whom the President removed — and as Judge Henderson reiterated in this case, ‘it is impossible to unwind the days during which a President is directed to recognize and work with an agency head whom he has already removed,”” the DOJ’s 12-page filing opposing both Harris’ second stay request and her request for a rehearing en banc states. “Judge Walker similarly recognized that ‘[t]he forcible reinstatement of a presidentially removed principal officer disenfranchises voters by hampering the President’s ability to govern.’”

After being fired on Feb. 10, Harris sued the Trump administration and won her job back through a temporary restraining order and a subsequent permanent injunction, both of which were issued by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras. The government appealed and the three-judge panel voted to stay Contreras’ injunction, allowing Trump to fire both Harris and National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) member Gwynne Wilcox — who had also won reprieve from a politically-motivated firing at the district court level.

The DOJ argues that Trump has the “inherent constitutional authority” to remove Harris and Wilcox, asserting it is well established that “the President’s removal power is the rule, not the exception.”

The administration further claimed that staying the circuit court’s Friday order would risk placing the parties “in a whipsaw.” According to the DOJ, should the administration ultimately win on the merits, any decisions made with the participation of Harris and Wilcox would be “called into question and potentially voidable.”

The appellate panel’s staying of the district court’s order reinstating Harris is particularly vulnerable to being overturned should it be heard by the en banc court, as it appears to conflict with long-standing legal precedent stemming from the U.S. Supreme Court’s 1935 decision in Humphrey’s Executor v. United States, which controls the originating statute that created the MSPB: the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA).

In tandem, the two sources of law have, for decades, been understood to mean that a president can fire a member of an independent agency “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.” Harris emphatically highlighted that understanding in her request for a stay, accusing the panel of attempting to rewrite Supreme Court precedent by allowing Trump to remove her without cause.

“The panel’s extraordinary order allows the Administration to immediately remove Harris from her position as a neutral arbitrator — something no President has attempted in the modern era — and mars the protection that Congress deemed essential for adjudicators to decide cases without fear or favor,” the filing stated. “The order effectively overturns Humphrey’s Executor and [another decades-old similar case]; defies the Supreme Court’s express instructions in [a recent similar case] that the Humphrey’s Executor framework remains good law; and ‘openly calls into question the constitutionality of dozens of federal statutes conditioning the removal of officials on multimember decision-making bodies.’”

Colin Kalmbacher contributed to this report.

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Civil service board chair wants en banc review of firing

homesafetytechpros — Sun, 30 Mar 2025 13:29:50 +0000

A member of the Merit Systems Protection Board who was removed by President Donald Trump earlier this year has asked for an appellate court to reconsider its opinion allowing her firing to go forward.

On Feb. 10, the 45th and 47th president tried to fire Cathy Harris, a Joe Biden appointee whose term expires in 2028, in an email from an assistant, telling her she was “terminated, effective immediately.”

Harris sued in Washington, D.C., and days later won her job back through a temporary restraining order issued in February — and then a permanent injunction which was issued earlier this month — by U.S. District Judge Rudolph Contreras, a Barack Obama appointee.

On Friday, a three-judge panel on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit issued a 2-1 ruling in the government’s favor, staying the injunction. The ruling allows Trump to fire both Harris and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox — who had also won reprieve from a politically-motivated firing at the district court level.

Now, Harris is asking for the trio to give her another bite at the apple — and to allow her to hold onto her job in the interim.

“Harris requests the panel administratively stay its order granting the government’s motion pending Harris’s forthcoming petition to the en banc Court,” the motion for an emergency administrative stay reads. “If the special panel denies this motion for an administrative stay, Harris requests the en banc Court issue an administrative stay.”

The panel’s ruling conflicts with long-standing precedent.

Lately relied upon by numerous judges over firing disputes is a 1935 U.S. Supreme Court case keeping “quasi judicial and quasi legislative” agencies largely insulated from the whims of the president.

Relevant to Harris, that case controls the originating statute that created the MSPB, the Civil Service Reform Act of 1978 (CSRA). In tandem, the two sources of law have, for decades, been understood to mean that a president can fire a member of an independent agency “only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

More Law&Crime coverage: ‘Committed the same error recently’: Trump DOJ using recent court win over fired Biden ethics enforcer in appeals bid to get civil service board chair axed, too

The two-judge majority disagreed.

“Humphrey’s has few, if any, applications today,” U.S. Circuit Judge Justin Walker, a Trump appointee wrote, referring to the 1935 case. U.S. Circuit Judge Karen L. Henderson, an appointee of George H.W. Bush, wrote a separate concurrence, while U.S. Circuit Judge Patricia Millett, a Barack Obama appointee, dissented.

Harris echoes the dissenting judge on the panel to accuse the majority of trying to rewrite Supreme Court precedent.

“The panel’s extraordinary order allows the Administration to immediately remove Harris from her position as a neutral arbitrator — something no President has attempted in the modern era — and mars the protection that Congress deemed essential for adjudicators to decide cases without fear or favor,” the motion continues. “The order effectively overturns Humphrey’s Executor and [another decades-old similar case]; defies the Supreme Court’s express instructions in [a recent similar case] that the Humphrey’s Executor framework remains good law; and ‘openly calls into question the constitutionality of dozens of federal statutes conditioning the removal of officials on multimember decision-making bodies.””

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The plaintiff implores the full court to take up the issue — and stresses that she should be allowed to continue working meanwhile.

“Panels are ‘the agent of the court,’ and the en banc Court should not let this aberrational result stand,” the motion goes on. “The Court must ‘apply controlling precedent, not play jurisprudential weather forecasters.’ A brief administrative stay will preserve the status quo ante and prevent disruption, while the full Court quickly considers Harris’ forthcoming request to consider this matter.”

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Former practice chair allegedly overbilled clients by over $3.5M at 2 BigLaw firms, ethics complaint says

homesafetytechpros — Thu, 06 Mar 2025 12:52:39 +0000

Ethics

Former practice chair allegedly overbilled clients by over $3.5M at 2 BigLaw firms, ethics complaint says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

February 26, 2025, 12:13 pm CST

A former partner in the Chicago offices of two large international law firms is facing an ethics complaint alleging that he falsified billing records and caused clients to be overbilled by more than $3.5 million over a period of 20 years. (Image from Shutterstock)

William Michael Doyle Jr. is accused in a Feb. 19 ethics complaint filed by the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission, the Legal Profession Blog reports.

The ethics complaint does not name the firms. But an online press release from 2022 said Doyle was the trusts and estates practice chair at Winston & Strawn before he joined Greenberg Traurig as a shareholder in August 2022.

“Doyle is a renowned tax and estate-planning expert with more than four decades of experience representing many of the wealthiest families in the United States and around the world,” the press release said.

While working at both firms, Doyle directed other lawyers and staff members to perform tasks for clients and reviewed their time-keeping records. Doyle was supposed to review the records and approve them for submission to the accounting department, which then billed clients.

The ethics complaint alleges that Doyle caused clients to be overbilled for the work that he oversaw and performed by recording time for services not provided, by inflating the hours worked, by billing for time spent on other clients, and by recording time that should have been written off.

The ethics complaint alleges that Doyle caused Winston & Strawn clients to be overbilled by $2,529,378 over 18 years. He is accused of causing Greenberg Traurig’s clients to be overbilled by $973,910 over a period of less than two years.

After learning of the time misrepresentations, both firms reviewed client invoices and offered to refund the amounts based on false information.

“Some, but not all, of the clients agreed to accept the refunds offered by the firms,” the ethics complaint says.

When reached by phone, Doyle said he could not comment without first speaking with his lawyer.

A Greenberg Traurig spokesperson gave this statement to the ABA Journal: “Mr. Doyle was with our firm for less than two years. As soon as we became aware of questionable billing practices, we investigated, and within weeks, took corrective actions, including notifying the Illinois bar [the Illinois Attorney Registration and Disciplinary Commission], fully cooperating with the ARDC and offering a full refund of amounts that appeared to have been questionably billed to impacted clients. By the conclusion of our investigation, Mr. Doyle was no longer associated with our firm.”

A Winston & Strawn spokesperson gave this statement to the ABA Journal: “Bill Doyle left Winston & Strawn in August 2022 and has not been associated with our firm since that time. We are committed to upholding the highest ethical standards and have zero tolerance for any actions that compromise our integrity or the trust our clients place in us. The complaint does not name Winston or cite any misconduct by the firm but instead alleges that Mr. Doyle made misrepresentations to the firm’s billing department that resulted in the improper invoices. Since learning of this matter, we have conducted a thorough investigation and taken appropriate measures to address any harm to our clients.”

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Chair of Senate Republican Caucus busted for DUI hit-and-run

homesafetytechpros — Fri, 06 Dec 2024 05:30:34 +0000

Inset: Sen. Ken Yager (Glynn County Detention Center). Background: Sen. Ken Yager speaking (WATE/YouTube).

A senator from Tennessee who was reelected this year and is the chairman of the state’s Senate Republican Caucus was arrested for suspicion of DUI after he allegedly committed a hit and run while driving a car with legislative plates that was paid for using his campaign account, according to cops and reports.

Sen. Ken Yager (R-Kingston) was caught driving drunk in Glynn County, Georgia, with an alleged blood alcohol concentration level of 0.14 — nearly double the state’s legal limit of 0.08 — on Tuesday evening at around 5 p.m., according to the Tennessee Lookout.

Authorities on Jekyll Island, a beach resort town off Georgia’s coast, received reports of a Ford Edge with Tennessee license plates and the words “KEY” on them that had just left the scene of a hit-and-run after failing to stop at a stop sign. Georgia State Troopers responded and found Yager, 77, in the parking lot of a grocery store, where he was already being evaluated by emergency medical services after tripping and falling, police say.

Troopers at the scene reported smelling a “distinct odor of alcohol” on the senator’s breath, prompting them to ask if he had anything to drink. “A couple glasses of wine previously in the day,” Yager allegedly told them.

The married father-of-two agreed to take a Breathalyzer and field sobriety test, which he allegedly failed, before being hauled away for DUI and the hit-and-run, the Tennessee Lookout reports. He refused to take a blood test.

Asked why he left the scene of the crash, Yager — who was on vacation — allegedly said “he thought everyone was fine” and claimed he “spoke with the other driver,” according to cops.

Finance records obtained by the Tennessee Lookout show that Yager uses his campaign account to foot the bill for his lease on the Ford Edge. In total, he has spent $22,888 in campaign funds so far on the “vehicle lease, car insurance, oil and tire maintenance, car washes, details and county vehicle registration fees” since purchasing it in 2022, the Lookout reports.

Yager’s license plates with the official state seal can be seen in video footage of Yager’s field sobriety test, which shows him having trouble standing. He released a statement after his arrest, calling what happened to him an “unfortunate incident.” Yager has since bonded out.

“On the advice of my attorney, I cannot discuss the particulars at this time,” Yager said. “I am and will continue to cooperate fully with authorities to bring this incident to an appropriate conclusion.”

First elected to the Tennessee Senate in 2006, Yager represents the counties of Campbell, Clay, Fentress, Macon, Morgan, Overton, Pickett, Roane and Scott. He was elected chair of the Senate Republican Caucus in 2018.

“My thoughts and prayers are with he and his family,” Lt. Gov. Randy McNally (R-Oak Ridge) said in a statement Thursday.

Yager won back his District 12 Senate seat last month in a landslide victory over independent candidate Charles Hutson II.

According to the Tennessee Lookout, if Yager gets indicted, Senate ethics rules require that he step down as caucus chair or file an appeal with the Ethics Committee for a hearing to argue for his position.

Attempts to reach the Senate Republican Caucus by Law&Crime on Thursday were unsuccessful, as were attempts to reach Yager’s office.

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