Supreme Court Rejects Agency Firing Appeal as NCUA Board Fight Continues

The U.S. Supreme Court handed President Donald Trump a legal development this week, declining to revisit his dismissal of a Democratic appointee.The justices rejected an appeal from Gwynne Wilcox, a member of the National Labor Relations Board.Their decision leaves standing a lower court ruling that upheld Trump’s authority to remove her. The action could significantly matter for an unresolved dispute involving the National Credit Union Administration.Two former NCUA board members are challenging their dismissals. The dispute raises questions about who controls federal officials exercising government power.Wilcox was appointed to a five-year term by President Joe Biden in 2023.Trump removed her in January 2025, shortly after returning to the White House. Wilcox argued that federal law protected labor board members from dismissal without cause.A federal district judge initially agreed, upholding statutory protections. But a divided federal appeals court reversed that ruling.The Supreme Court’s refusal to hear Wilcox’s appeal leaves that appellate judgment undisturbed.Importantly, declining review does not itself constitute a new Supreme Court ruling on the underlying constitutional arguments.