Can Trump fire members of boards and commissions who would thwart his agenda, or are they an impervious fourth branch of government subject to removal only for misconduct? We will now see this question put before the courts sooner rather than later.

Trump has fired one of the NLRB’s Democratic members – even though the statute purports to prohibit firing except for cause.

This was an unexpected move because of the drama last month when Joe Manchin and Kyrsten Sinema blocked Schumer’s attempt to lock in a 3-2 Democratic advantage. There were only two Democrats on the board, so Trump could have taken control just by filling the vacant seats.

But he fired Democratic board member Gwynne Wilcox anyway.

Wilcox says she’ll sue. We think that’s exactly what Trump wants, in the hopes of getting the Supreme Court to overturn Humphrey’s Executor, the 1935 case that upheld limitations on the president’s removal power.  We think the Chevron decision – which essentially says that reg agencies need congressional and/or exec branch oversight – is a hopeful sign.