Timeline of Notable NLRB Events During Trump's Second Term
Archiving everything that happens under the second Trump NLRB.
This post will be constantly updated between January 2025 and January 2029 with the events that I consider notable. This includes changes in key personnel, legal precedent, and so on.
January 20, 2025: Trump named Republican Marvin Kaplan the Chair of the NLRB.
Kaplan was already one of the three current members of the NLRB. Democrats Gwynne Wilcox and David Prouty were the other current members and two Board seats were vacant. This move did not change the composition of the NLRB, but did transfer the Chair from Wilcox to Kaplan.January 28, 2025: Trump fired General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo.
Abruzzo was appointed by the Biden administration and helped move NLRB case law in a worker-friendly direction. Abruzzo was replaced with Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter. Read the letter firing Abruzzo here.January 28, 2025: Trump fired Democratic Board Member Gwynne Wilcox.
Trump’s firing violated the NLRA’s requirement that removal of Board members be only for neglect of duty or malfeasance, setting up a constitutional challenge. The firing also deprived the NLRB of a quorum and made it unable to issue decisions. Read the letter firing Wilcox here.February 1, 2025: Trump fired Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter.
Rutter replaced General Counsel Abruzzo when she was fired on January 28.February 3, 2025: Trump appointed William Cowen as Acting General Counsel.
Cowen is a conservative and therefore a more natural choice for Trump than Rutter was.
Has Abruzzo not been fired yet?