In a much-anticipated move, President Donald Trump has fired Jennifer Abruzzo, the general counsel of the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”). Trump’s action follows a precedent set by former President Joe Biden. On his first day in office four years ago, Biden ousted Peter Robb, the NLRB’s general counsel during the first Trump administration. During her tenure, Abruzzo aggressively sought to expand workers’ rights under the National Labor Relations Act, empower unions, and protect those seeking to organize workers. 

The removal of Abruzzo opens the door for President Trump to appoint a new general counsel for the Board. The White House has yet to announce Abruzzo’s replacement, but the President’s transition team for the NLRB was led by Robb and his former deputy, Alice Stock. The new U.S. Labor Board’s prosecutor is expected to adopt a more pro-business stance. It remains to be seen, however, if that agenda will be influenced by Trump’s campaign rhetoric and promises in support of workers and union members. Many have noted that Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Labor, Representative Lori Chavez-DeRemer, is an unusually pro-union Republican whose candidacy was backed by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters in part because she had backed the Protecting the Right to Organize Act as a Congresswoman. 

The dismissal of Abruzzo will undoubtedly bring a shift towards employer-friendly priorities under a Trump-appointed NLRB general counsel. Over the past decade and a half, the labor law pendulum has swung back and forth with increasing momentum under each presidency since Obama. In addition to seeking to roll back many of the labor law changes championed by Abruzzo, whoever Trump appoints as the new general counsel will be taking over at a critical juncture for the future of the NLRB. In 2024, a number of companies filed constitutional challenges to the NLRB’s authority to be prosecutor, judge, and jury violating due process, the Board and its administrative law judges being shielded from removal by the president, and the agency’s administrative proceedings violating employer’s Seventh Amendment right to a jury trial. Companies and unions alike will be closely watching to see how a new NLRB general counsel handles these cases as several of them move to appeals courts in 2025. The outcomes could have far-reaching implications for labor law and the future of the NLRB.