The power dynamics between the White House and the nation’s labor watchdog were shaken this week after a U.S. appeals court sided with SpaceX and two other companies, ruling that the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) is likely operating on unconstitutional footing.
The 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New Orleans declared that shielding the NLRB’s five members and its administrative judges from being removed at will by the president undermines executive authority. In short: the president, the court said, must be able to oversee anyone carrying out executive power on his behalf.
That ruling didn’t just chip away at the NLRB—it froze it. The court blocked cases accusing SpaceX, pipeline giant Energy Transfer, and social-services platform Aunt Bertha of labor violations, leaving the agency unable to pursue them until the broader constitutional question is settled.
Circuit Judge Don Willett, writing for the panel, made the stakes plain: companies should not be forced to choose between following the law and challenging its legitimacy.
The NLRB, already weakened since former President Donald Trump ousted Democratic board member Gwynne Wilcox earlier this year, now faces an even deeper paralysis. The agency, designed by Congress to be independent from presidential interference, has never before seen a member fired by the White House. That unprecedented move set off a wave of challenges, and Tuesday’s decision is the first time an appeals court has agreed the structure is flawed.
For Elon Musk, once a close Trump ally before their very public split, the legal win adds to SpaceX’s ongoing fight with the labor board, where another case remains pending. For the NLRB, the decision casts a long shadow over its role as the sole federal referee in private-sector labor disputes.
The panel that delivered this ruling was composed of two Trump appointees and one judge from the George H.W. Bush era—signaling that the debate over presidential control of federal agencies is far from over.
