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Top Three News Stories:

1. Supreme Court Lets Firings of Independent Agency Watchdogs Stand—For Now

On May 22, the Court issued a brief, unsigned order allowing President Trump’s removals of Merit Systems Protection Board member Cathy Harris and National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox to remain in effect while their lawsuits move forward. The majority wrote that boards wielding “considerable executive power” likely fall outside the 1935 Humphrey’s Executor precedent, hinting that statutory tenure protections for many multimember commissions may soon be history. Three liberal justices dissented, warning that the decision paves the way for unprecedented White House control over traditionally independent oversight bodies. Politico

Legal Insight:

By casting MSPB and NLRB functions as primarily executive, the order signals that the Court may scrap or sharply narrow Humphrey’s Executor when the merits return, exposing SEC, CFPB, and even the Fed’s governors to at-will dismissal.  In the short term, a hobbled two-member MSPB will take even longer to clear its appeals backlog and issue precedents, so practitioners should expect extended timelines and consider seeking interim relief in district court.  Whistleblower, First-Amendment, or anti-retaliation defenses against targeted firings remain viable, but counsel should preserve them early before the legal landscape shifts.

2. California Judge Signals She Will Extend the Freeze on Government-Wide RIFs

During a May 22 hearing in San Francisco, U.S. District Judge Susan Illston said the evidence “strongly suggests” that the administration’s layoff blueprint usurps Congress’s reorganization power and that plaintiffs are likely to succeed. She indicated she will convert her two-week temporary restraining order into a broader preliminary injunction blocking reductions-in-force at eighteen cabinet-level and independent agencies. Illston criticized OMB and OPM for directing agencies “what to cut, when to cut, where to cut,” calling that more than mere guidance. Government Executive

Legal Insight:

A preliminary injunction will buy months for employees facing separation to audit retention registers, invoke ICTAP, or seek discontinued-service retirement.  Agencies that proceed with probationary re-firings or “voluntary” reshufflings risk contempt if those actions are deemed disguised RIFs.  The ruling also strengthens Hill efforts to require statutory approval for large-scale reorganizations; any attempt to re-label layoffs as performance-based could fail APA review.  Counsel should start FOIA or discovery requests now for OMB-agency communications, which will be central to proving whether the guidance became a command.  

3. Judge Blocks Plan to Abolish the Education Department and Reinstate 1,300 Fired Workers

A federal judge, also on May 22, halted the Trump administration’s effort to dismantle the Department of Education, stop further layoffs, and transfer student-loan operations elsewhere. The injunction orders the agency to restore its pre-RIF staffing levels and resume core statutory functions, finding no evidence that the “efficiency” cuts would benefit students or that Congress had authorized shuttering the department. The decision came in a suit filed by professors and teachers’ unions who argued the move would harm families relying on federal aid. Reuters

Legal Insight:  

The ruling underscores that abolishing a cabinet department requires an act of Congress; executive-only shutdowns run afoul of the Antideficiency Act and core separation-of-powers principles.  Employees terminated in March now have a clear path to reinstatement with back pay under the Back Pay Act, and the order’s reasoning will bolster similar challenges if other agencies attempt mass layoffs.  Borrowers can argue that disruptions in loan servicing constitute actionable harm, opening another litigation front if future transfers are attempted without statutory authority

Mindful Moment of the Day: 

The Transition Reset

Federal workdays pivot rapidly—from a staffing grievance to a cybersecurity briefing to a budget call. Each pivot leaves trace emotions that can cloud the next task. Close your eyes for a single inhalation, silently label the hand-off (“closing grievance, opening cyber briefing”), and picture the previous task sliding into an archive. Exhale with an image of clear space on the mental desktop. Neuroscience research shows that even this five-second transition lowers cognitive drag, allowing the prefrontal cortex to regain the precision required for complex problem-solving.