Trump Fires two EEOC Democratic Commissioners In Rare Move (2 )

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic Equal Employment Opportunity Commission members in an extraordinary relocation that undercuts the Democrats’ ballot bulk on the board, the pair validated in declarations Tuesday.

Trump’s firing of EEOC Commissioners Jocelyn Samuels and Charlotte Burrows leaves two seats on the five-member civil rights panel to be filled by nominations from the brand-new administration.

The president also axed the commission’s basic counsel, Karla Gilbride, who verified her dismissal in a declaration posted to LinkedIn on Tuesday evening.

The shootings of Samuels and Burrows bypass historical precedent of leaving commissioners in location at the independent firm. Their ouster clears a path for the Trump administration to advance its second-term civil liberties law program, which has so far targeted variety, employment equity, employment and inclusion programs and gender identity defenses through executive orders.

Due to staggered terms, the Democrats would have kept a bulk on the five-member EEOC until 2026, when Samuels’ term was set to end. Without the Democrats’ voting bloc in location, recently called acting chair, Republican Andrea Lucas, and future Trump appointees can steer the firm’s policy and litigation program.

Burrows, the previous chair of the EEOC, Samuels, and Gilbride got word of their firings from the White House late Monday.

“I take pride in the work my associates and I have actually done to help get rid of barriers for level playing field for all employees and to promote reasonable and nondiscriminatory offices. While I highly disagree with the President’s actions, and will check out all legal alternatives readily available to me, I will continue to do all I can to fight for the rights of American workers and to support the efforts of others who do the same,” Burrows said her declaration, in which she also said she’s working with legal representatives from Katz Banks Kumin LLP.

Trump likewise ended two other key authorities from another independent labor-focused agency, the National Labor Relations Board. He fired Democratic member Gwynne Wilcox and Biden-era General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo on Monday.

The shootings come after Republican-led states have cited defenses commissioners at the EEOC have from being removed as unconstitutional in separate lawsuits challenging the agency’s work environment anti-harassment guidance and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rules.

The EEOC is one of several federal agencies dealing with claims from challengers that argue its is unconstitutionally secured from being fired at will by the president.

“It has actually been an honor and an advantage to work as an EEOC Commissioner, and I deeply regret this Administration’s short-sighted and extraordinary decision to eliminate me from a position to which I stay dedicated. I am considering my legal options and will continue to promote strenuously for the civil liberties of all workers,” Samuels stated in a statement.

Gilbride’s firing has more precedent in the commission’s history. Former President Joe Biden fired Trump-appointed EEOC Chair Sharon Gustafson in 2021 after she refused to step down.

Gilbride stated in her posted declaration she is happy of the results the EEOC attains for employment employees, and is “discouraged by the current executive orders that seem planned to sidetrack federal companies from their day-to-day work of serving the general public and instead require them to concentrate on settling ratings with, and removing traces of, the previous administration.”

Only Lucas, who Trump named as acting chair Jan. 20, in addition to Democratic Commissioner Kalpana Kotagal remain on the civil rights panel. There is also a vacancy open from a seat left by Keith Sonderling, who Trump just recently named deputy labor secretary.