Since the start of his second term, President Trump has sought to fundamentally remake the federal government, including by firing at least 56 political appointees.

John, these are the people who make sure our government runs—from watchdog ethics officials to nonpolitical advisors.

Most of these individuals are Senate-confirmed, have served across multiple administrations, and were appointed by Republican and Democratic presidents, including 10 whom Trump himself appointed.

These firings are an unprecedented attack on independent agencies and government accountability and it's an unprecedented attempt to undermine independence and weaken institutional guardrails.

Our team at CREW has been tracking these firings and pushing back against Trump’s attempts to gut the federal government and replace dedicated public servants with political loyalists. Help us keep up this critical work and defend our democracy by donating today to support CREW →

Many of Trump’s firings have been illegal and some have violated Supreme Court precedent.

Several lawsuits filed since Trump’s firing spree began argue their firing violated provisions of the bipartisan Securing Inspector General Independence Act.

A lawsuit filed by the chair of the Merit Systems Protection Board resulted in a federal judge ruling that the firing violated a federal law that prevents presidents from removing members of the Merit Systems Protection Board except for “inefficiency, neglect of duty, or malfeasance in office.”

Perhaps no firing more clearly highlights the grave threat of Trump’s attacks on independent appointees than his firing on March 18 of the two Democratic members of the Federal Trade Commission, which the Supreme Court just heard an argument about last week.

These firings were particularly blatant because of the Supreme Court's unanimous 1935 precedent in Humphrey’s Executor v. U.S., which holds that presidents cannot remove FTC members on policy grounds.

The Trump administration has not been shy about hiding its desire to overturn Humphrey’s Executor. In a letter to Senator Dick Durbin, the Department of Justice stated that it “intends to urge the Supreme Court to overrule [the Humphreys Executor] decision, which prevents the President from adequately supervising principal officers in the Executive Branch.”

Let’s be clear about what overturning this decision would mean, John: It would end independent agencies as we know them. It would legitimize Trump’s illegal firing spree. It would give presidents the freedom to install their politically aligned appointees into positions designed to be apolitical.

CREW is on the front lines, pushing back — investigating, challenging and exposing Trump’s efforts to gut the civil service and bend independent agencies to his political will. We’re fighting to protect the public servants who keep our government functioning and to stop the presidency from becoming an unchecked seat of power.

We can’t do this important work without you by our side. If you’re with us in this moment — if you believe in an accountable, ethical government that serves the people, not a president’s inner circle — please chip in today to help us keep up this critical work →

If you've saved your payment information with ActBlue Express, your tax deductible donation will go through immediately to ActBlue Charities Inc. and be disbursed to CREW within 30 days:

Thank you,