On February 1, 2025, five (5) days after President Trump fired NLRB Member Gwynne A. Wilcox, and NLRB General Counsel Jennifer A. Abruzzo, President Trump fired the NLRB's second-ranked attorney, NLRB Deputy General Counsel Jessica Rutter. Rutter briefly served as the NLRB Acting General Counsel after Abruzzo's termination on January 27, 2025. As of this posting, it is not clear who will be appointed to serve as the new Acting General Counsel. The Senate must confirm any eventual appointee by President Trump to serve as the NLRB General Counsel.
The Board is now officially without a quorum and, while Regional Offices will continue to operate, without an administrative head of the organization equipped to make major decisions regarding the investigation and prosecution of unfair labor practice cases. As always, we will continue to monitor developments in the composition of the Board.
UPDATE: On February 3, 2025, President Trump named William Cowen as the Acting General Counsel of the NLRB. Cowen has had multiple stints at the NLRB, including a brief service as a Republican Board Member (January to November 2002), appointed by President George W. Bush. Immediately prior to his current appointment, Cowen served as Regional Director of the Board's Los Angeles Regional Office (2016-Present). The Board now has a temporary administrative head, and we will continue to track potential updates on an official NLRB General Counsel appointment.
UPDATED – NLRB Shake-Up Continues: Trump Fired Acting General Counsel
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