On July 17, 2025, President Donald Trump nominated a pair of labor lawyers to fill two of the three vacant seats on the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) and potentially provide the NLRB with a quorum necessary to issue precedential decisions.
Quick Hits
- President Trump has tapped two labor attorneys to fill vacant seats on the NLRB, potentially restoring a quorum necessary for issuing significant decisions.
- The NLRB has been without a quorum for most of President Trump's term following his removal of a prior Democratic appointee, limiting its ability to address key labor issues and reconsider decisions issued during the Biden administration.
President Trump tapped Scott Mayer, an in-house legal counsel and current chief labor counsel at an American multinational corporation, to fill the seat last held by former Member Lauren McFerran, a Democratic appointee whose term expired on December 16, 2024. The new term expires on December 16, 2029.
The president also nominated James Murphy, a career attorney at the NLRB who most recently served as the chief counsel to NLRB Chairman Marvin E. Kaplan. Murphy would fill the seat vacated by former Member John F. Ring. The seat's term is set to expire on December 16, 2027.
If confirmed by the U.S. Senate, Mayer and Murphy would join Chairman Kaplan and Member David M. Prouty, the only Democratic appointee, on the Board, though Chairman Kaplan's term expires on August 27, 2025. Depending on when and if the two new appointees are confirmed, the NLRB could have a quorum of at least three members required to issue precedential decisions and a majority of Republican appointees.
The NLRB has been without a quorum since President Trump removed NLRB Member Gwynne Wilcox during his first days in office, dropping the NLRB to two members. On May 22, 2025, the Supreme Court of the United States stayed a court ruling that had blocked Wilcox's removal, keeping her off the NLRB pending final resolution of her legal challenge.
As a result, the NLRB has been unable to rule on any cases and has not been positioned to reconsider some of the precedent-shifting and employee-friendly decisions issued during the Biden administration, including decisions to prohibit so-called captive audience meetings and limit employer speech rights during union organizing. The NLRB has only issued six decisions since President Trump's inauguration on January 21, 2025.
The NLRB nominations come after President Trump, on March 25, 2025, nominated Crystal Carey for NLRB general counsel, to take over for Acting General Counsel William B. Cowen.
Next Steps
The NLRB appointments were referred to the U.S. Senate Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions (HELP), which recently held a hearing on Carey's appointment as general counsel. Both the Board appointments and the general counsel appointment still need to be confirmed by the full U.S. Senate.
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