Quick Hits

• President Trump appointed William B. Cowen as acting general counsel of the NLRB.
• The appointment comes after President Trump, in the past week, discharged former NLRB General Counsel Jennifer Abruzzo and her replacement, NLRB Acting General Counsel Jessica Rutter. President Trump also removed NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox.
• The NLRB said that field offices will continue to process unfair labor practice and representation cases.

Acting General Counsel Cowen has served as the Regional Director for the NLRB’s Los Angeles Region Office (Region 21) since 2016 and previously served as an NLRB member from January 22, 2002, to November 22, 2002, after having been appointed by the then-President George W. Bush, according to the statement from the NLRB.

The statement did not indicate who President Trump will formally appoint to fill the general counsel position. The appointment must also be confirmed by the U.S. Senate.

On February 1, 2025, President Trump discharged former Acting General Counsel Rutter, who was elevated to acting general counsel after President Trump discharged former General Counsel Abruzzo on January 27, 2025. Rutter had previously served as Deputy General Counsel under Abruzzo.

The same day as Rutter’s discharge, the NLRB issued a notice to the public that the NLRB Office of the General Counsel’s field offices will continue to process unfair labor practice (ULP) cases and representation cases as normal, pursuant to the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA), applicable regulations, and case law.

However, President Trump’s removal of Member Wilcox leaves the NLRB without a quorum to hear cases. The Board has only two sitting members: Republican appointee Marvin Kaplan, whom President Trump named the NLRB chair on his first day in office, and Democratic appointee David Prouty, whose term is set to end in August 2026.

The changes at the NLRB come as President Trump has also removed Democratic U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) Commissioners Charlotte A. Burrows and Jocelyn Samuels and discharged EEOC General Counsel Karla Gilbride.

Next Steps

The NLRB shake-up has created some uncertainty. While the agency has said field offices will continue to hear ULP cases and representation cases, the Board lacks a quorum to hear challenges. Meanwhile, former NLRB Member Wilcox has said that she is exploring legal options to challenge her removal, which is likely to lead to a lengthy court case that could ultimately land before the Supreme Court of the United States.

Under the Trump administration, more policy changes at the NLRB are expected, but they could take time to implement as a new general counsel must be confirmed and new NLRB members appointed.