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The lawsuit argues that employees who were fired for political reasons have no recourse, after President Trump neutralized a board that handles federal labor disputes.
July 25, 2025, 12:53 p.m. ET
Three former Justice Department employees who were fired as part of the Trump administration’s politicization of the agency have pushed back in a new lawsuit, arguing that they were dismissed unlawfully and in violation of normal civil service protections.
The three individuals, including a federal attorney who earned regular distinctions for his work prosecuting rioters who stormed the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, contended that the Trump administration disregarded the standard protections for civil servants that prohibit arbitrary firings.
The lawsuit, filed Thursday in Washington, is predicated on the paralysis at the Merit Systems Protection Board. The board typically adjudicates claims of improper firings and has the power to reinstate improperly fired workers. But President Trump fired its head, Cathy Harris, a Democrat, in February, leaving the traditionally bipartisan board without a quorum and effectively paralyzing the only venue where civil servants can fight on their own behalf.
“In a normal course of proceedings, plaintiffs would be able to seek recourse through the Merit Systems Protection Board,” the lawsuit says. “But because of the government’s own actions, any complaint filed before the M.S.P.B. will be futile.”
Under federal statute, fired workers have the right to appeal their firings to the board, and then to a federal appeals court.
“However, due to the government’s own actions to stymie the board, the M.S.P.B. currently cannot function as intended,” the complaint states.
