Attorney General Kwame Raoul and a group of 18 attorneys general have submitted an amicus brief supporting Cathy A. Harris, a member of the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB), whom former President Donald Trump allegedly attempted to remove from office unlawfully. According to federal law, an MSPB member can only be removed for inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance. There is an ongoing appeal after a federal judge ruled that Trump's attempt to remove Harris was unlawful.
“States like Illinois rely upon the MSPB and its political independence to protect federal workers from political retaliation and other politically-motivated actions,” Raoul stated. “This unlawful termination undermines the entire merit system upon which the government’s civil service is based. I will continue to stand with my fellow attorneys general to defend against the administration’s continued attacks on federal civil servants.”
The MSPB is a congressionally-created independent agency designed to protect federal employees by upholding merit-system principles and adjudicating disputes between workers and agencies. Raoul and the attorneys general highlighted the importance of the MSPB’s political independence in their filed brief with the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit.
In the brief for Harris v. Bessent, Raoul and his coalition noted that protecting civil servants from “arbitrary action, personal favoritism, or coercion for political purposes” is key. They argued that the MSPB needs a certain level of political independence to execute its duties fairly.
The attorneys general joining Raoul in this legal action are from Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, North Carolina, Oregon, Vermont, and Washington.