Supreme Court declines review of Trump’s firing of NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox
The justices denied Gwynne Wilcox’s petition challenging her removal from the National Labor Relations Board, leaving a D.C. Circuit ruling in Trump’s favor undisturbed without issuing a merits opinion.
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday, October 19, declined to hear former National Labor Relations Board member Gwynne Wilcox’s challenge to President Donald Trump’s decision to remove her from the agency.
The court’s order list placed Wilcox v. Trump, case No. 26-5, under “certiorari denied.” The one-line action leaves in place a December 5, 2025, ruling by the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit that favored Trump. The justices did not issue an opinion explaining their decision.
What the court did—and did not decide
A denial of certiorari is not a new merits ruling and does not, by itself, endorse every part of the lower court’s reasoning. It means the Supreme Court will not take up Wilcox’s appeal. The practical result is that the D.C. Circuit judgment remains operative and her attempt to reverse the firing through this case has ended.
Trump removed Wilcox on January 27, 2025, before her term was due to expire in 2028. Court records say his letter told her that the NLRB had not operated consistently with his administration’s objectives and cited concerns that board decisions had unduly disfavored employers. Wilcox sued on February 5, arguing that the removal violated federal law.
The National Labor Relations Act establishes a five-member board whose members serve five-year terms. Its text says the president may remove a member, after notice and a hearing, only for neglect of duty or malfeasance in office. Trump’s notice did not specify one of those statutory grounds, according to both Wilcox’s filing and the Justice Department’s brief.
How the case reached the Supreme Court
A federal district judge initially ruled for Wilcox, relying on precedent that permitted Congress to give some independent-agency officials protection from removal. The Supreme Court later stayed that judgment while litigation continued. The D.C. Circuit then reversed, holding that the NLRB exercises substantial executive power and that Congress therefore could not restrict the president’s authority to dismiss its members.
Wilcox asked the justices either to send the case back for reconsideration or to review it fully. Her petition argued that the NLRB differs from the Federal Trade Commission because labor-board members primarily adjudicate disputes while a separately appointed general counsel investigates and prosecutes cases. She also argued that stripping some agency powers would be a possible alternative to eliminating members’ job protections.
The Trump administration urged the court to deny review. The Justice Department said the court’s June 2026 decision in Trump v. Slaughter—which rejected statutory removal protection for an FTC member—controlled the dispute because the NLRB adjudicates labor cases, issues rules and can seek enforcement in federal court.
What the denial means
Bloomberg Law and Reuters reported the denial shortly after the order list was released. Bloomberg Law described it as closing Wilcox’s effort to reverse her termination and as a sign of the broad reach of the Slaughter decision.
The order strengthens the immediate legal position of the Trump administration in this specific firing dispute, but it adds no new written Supreme Court doctrine. Questions about how presidential removal power applies in other agencies will still depend on their statutes, functions and future litigation.
For the NLRB, the outcome confirms that Wilcox will not regain her seat through this lawsuit. More broadly, it continues a shift toward greater White House control over officials at agencies Congress had structured with some independence from the president.
Sources and image credit
Primary records: the Supreme Court’s October 19 order list, the case docket, Wilcox’s petition and the Justice Department’s opposition brief. News confirmation: Bloomberg Law and Reuters.
Image: Official portrait of Gwynne A. Wilcox by the National Labor Relations Board, via Wikimedia Commons; sourced from the NLRB biography page and marked public domain as a U.S. government work. Center-cropped and resized to 1600×900; no text added.