A federal judge on Wednesday blocked President Donald Trump’s removal of two Democratic members from the Privacy and Civil Liberties Oversight Board, halting an effort that critics say could weaken independent oversight of federal counterterrorism programs.
U.S. District Judge Reggie B. Walton issued the ruling in response to a lawsuit filed in February by two of the three Democratic board members dismissed by Trump. The decision preserves the independence of the five-member board, which was established by Congress in the wake of the September 11 attacks to ensure that the government’s counterterrorism efforts remain balanced with privacy and civil liberties protections.
The board operates as an independent watchdog within the executive branch. Its mission includes reviewing surveillance programs and advising both the President and Congress on privacy issues related to national security.
White House spokesperson Harrison Fields responded to the ruling in a written statement, asserting the President’s authority in the matter.
“The Constitution gives President Trump the power to remove personnel who exercise his executive authority,” Fields said in an email to the Associated Press. “The Trump Administration looks forward to ultimate victory on the issue.”
Judge Walton, however, disagreed with the administration’s interpretation of executive power. In his written opinion, Walton warned that allowing the President to remove board members at will would compromise the agency’s independence.
“To hold otherwise would be to bless the President’s obvious attempt to exercise power beyond that granted to him by the Constitution and shield the Executive Branch’s counterterrorism actions from independent oversight, public scrutiny, and bipartisan congressional insight,” Walton wrote.
Although the statute that created the board does not explicitly protect members from being fired without cause, Walton emphasized that the board’s structure and function make it clear Congress intended to limit the President’s removal authority. The board’s role, he noted, is to provide independent assessments of executive branch policies and report those findings to lawmakers.
The lawsuit was brought by former board members Travis LeBlanc and Edward Felten. In court filings, they argued that if board members could be removed at the President’s discretion, it would chill their ability to provide candid assessments and recommendations especially when those findings might be critical of the administration.
The third Democratic board member removed by Trump had only two days remaining in her term and did not join the lawsuit. With another seat already vacant at the time of the firings, the board was left with just one active member, a Republican appointee. That number falls short of the quorum needed for the board to carry out its core responsibilities, including producing an ongoing report on the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA).
The Justice Department pushed back against the legal challenge. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Dreier argued that unless Congress explicitly includes removal protections in a statute, courts should not assume such limitations exist. He cautioned that doing so could improperly place the judiciary in the role of legislating.
Still, Walton maintained that the overall intent of Congress when forming the board was clear. Allowing at-will removal, he said, would strip the board of its independence and effectively place it under the authority it was created to monitor.
The judge’s ruling temporarily halts Trump’s attempt to reshape the board and underscores ongoing legal tensions over the scope of presidential power. The case marks one of several recent courtroom battles in which judges have blocked aspects of the Trump administration’s policy moves, particularly those viewed as undermining independent agencies or protections established by Congress.
With the board unable to function due to lack of a quorum, the ruling may pave the way for reinstating its full oversight capabilities at least until further legal challenges are resolved.
