MSPB Member (2022-2025); chair 2023-2025; fired by Trump without cause
Background
Cathy A. Harris was appointed to the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) by President Biden and confirmed by the Senate, with a term scheduled to run through 2028. The MSPB is the independent adjudicative body that hears federal employees’ appeals of agency personnel actions, and federal law permits removal of its members only for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office. Donald Trump fired Harris in February 2025 without citing any statutory cause. She sued, and a federal district court ordered her reinstated, but the Supreme Court stayed that order on a 6-3 vote. The D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals ultimately upheld the firing in December 2025.
