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

President Donald Trump fired two Democratic Equal Job opportunity Commission members in an unmatched move that damages the Democrats’ voting bulk on the board, job the set confirmed in statements Tuesday.

Trump’s shooting of EEOC Commissioners Jocelyn and Charlotte Burrows leaves 2 seats on the five-member civil rights panel to be filled by elections from the new administration.

The president likewise axed the commission’s general counsel, Karla Gilbride, who confirmed her termination in a declaration posted to LinkedIn on Tuesday night.

The shootings of Samuels and Burrows bypass historic precedent of leaving commissioners in place 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 diversity, job equity, and addition programs and gender identity protections through executive orders.

Due to staggered terms, the Democrats would have preserved a majority on the five-member EEOC up until 2026, when Samuels’ term was set to expire. Without the Democrats’ ballot bloc in place, recently called acting chair, Republican Andrea Lucas, and future Trump appointees can guide the agency’s policy and lawsuits agenda.

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

“I take pride in the work my colleagues and I have actually done to assist remove barriers for equal opportunity for all employees and to promote fair and nondiscriminatory work environments. While I strongly disagree with the President’s actions, and will check out all legal alternatives 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 exact same,” Burrows said her declaration, job in which she also said she’s dealing with legal representatives from Katz Banks Kumin LLP.

Trump also ended 2 other essential officials 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 firings come after Republican-led states have pointed out securities commissioners at the EEOC have from being removed as unconstitutional in separate lawsuits challenging the agency’s office anti-harassment guidance and Pregnant Workers Fairness Act rules.

The EEOC is among numerous federal firms dealing with lawsuits from oppositions that argue its management is unconstitutionally safeguarded from being fired at will by the president.

“It has actually been an honor and a privilege to act as an EEOC Commissioner, and I deeply regret this Administration’s short-sighted and unmatched choice to eliminate me from a position to which I stay dedicated. I am considering my legal options and will continue to advocate strenuously for the civil liberties of all workers,” Samuels said 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 takes pride in the results the EEOC achieves for workers, and job is “disheartened by the recent executive orders that appear meant to sidetrack federal companies from their day-to-day work of serving the public and instead force them to concentrate on settling ratings with, and removing traces of, the previous administration.”

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