The removal of the National Labor Relations Board’s general counsel had been expected. But the firing of a Democratic member stops it from protecting workers’ rights, for now.

President Trump on Monday fired two leaders of the National Labor Relations Board, in a major attack on workers’ rights and labor unions. Trump’s surprise removal of Democratic NLRB member Gwynne Wilcox came even though federal law says that board members can only be fired for neglect or malfeasance.

President Donald Trump has removed a Democratic member of the U.S. National Labor Relations Board from office, an unprecedented move that will escalate an ongoing legal battle over the scope of the president's powers to control federal agencies.