KCNF’s George Chuzi was quoted in a recent Government Executive article examining a new Justice Department legal opinion that limits the independence of the Foreign Service Grievance Board.
The board, created under the 1980 Foreign Service Act, has served as an evidentiary check on the State Department, reviewing disciplinary actions or terminations and reinstating employees when there is insufficient evidence to support the actions. The Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel recently concluded that the Board’s structure violates the Constitution’s Appointments Clause, because the Secretary of State cannot remove board members except for cause. The Board may continue to hear grievances, but the department says the Secretary will retain final decision-making authority. Furthermore, Secretary of State Marco Rubio has not filled vacancies on the board, and remaining members’ terms expire October 1, 2026, which will leave the board unable to function.
In the article, Chuzi connected the DOJ’s opinion to the Supreme Court’s recent ruling in Trump v. Slaughter, which “has made clear that the president’s power to appoint, even with the advice and consent of the Senate, cannot be limited by Congress.” He explained that the same reasoning the Court applied to the president’s appointment power now extends to removal power as well, telling Government Executive that “If he has the power to appoint them, even with advice and consent, for whatever reasons he wants, he can terminate them.”
The opinion is part of a broader pattern of legal decisions expanding executive authority over the federal workforce, and it has drawn criticism from the American Foreign Service Association and members of Congress who warn it removes a key layer of independent review for federal employees facing discipline or termination.
Read the full article here: State Department board’s ability to challenge firings undercut by DOJ.